Code Lyoko Destinies Realized
by PurpleSatinRose
Summary: Completed! So much has changed, so much has been lost. So beggins the epic race against time... and they don't even know it. OxA UxY.
1. Chapter 1: It All Begins

**Please review my story! New chapters will be up every Tuesday, Friday, and on special occasions Saturday! I do not own Code Lyoko or any of its characters. I do not own the Disney quote "whatcha doin?" either.**

Chapter 1

_Five seconds. Four seconds. Three. Two. One. Ring!_

"Attention eighth grade students!" Mrs. Hertz called through her cupped hands. "Your testing time for the science exam is over. We'll be coming around to collect your exams and then you may go."

Aelita let out a sigh and smiled at the finished final exam that sat in front of her. She had actually finished her exam over an hour ago, but she had to stay in the gym with all the other eighth grade students until the entire three hour testing period was over. Aelita looked around the gym. It was filled with over two hundred desks to seat the entire eighth grade, and over two hundred students were either talking with their neighbors or rushing to finish their exam packets as the teachers walked up and down the aisles collecting their answer sheets. Aelita looked over the sea of students at Jeremy who had also finished a long time ago. He was impatiently holding out his exam for Mrs. Meyer to collect.

Aelita turned to talk with Ulrich. The teachers had arranged the students in alphabetical order, and since Stern and Stones were next to each other in the alphabet, Ulrich's desk had been put right behind Aelita's.

"How do you think you did?" Asked Aelita as she fanned herself with the answer sheet. It was four days until summer vacation and it was very hot. Being crammed in the gym for three hours with two hundred other kids just made it worse.

Ulrich shrugged. "Pretty good I guess. I finished twenty minutes ago." Aelita nodded. "God it's hot in here!"Cried Ulrich as he too, fanned himself with his answer sheet. Just then Jim appeared in front of the two. He held a stack of finished exams in his arms from the kids in front of them that had gotten up to leave.

"Stones! Stern! Your exams are not fans!"

"Sorry Jim!" Said Aelita as she handed him her exam. Ulrich did the same. Jim moved on to the other students as Ulrich and Aelita stood up and walked towards the door. Ulrich started smiling.

"What?" Asked Aelita.

"Over there." Ulrich pointed across the gym. She followed his gaze across the gym to Odd, who was balancing a pencil on the tip of his nose. Odd smiled and waved at them before going back to balancing the pencil. He was probably waiting for a teacher to collect his exam. Aelita laughed. "Let's wait for him."

"Ok, but can we wait for him outside? I don't think I can stay another minute in this hot sweaty gym."Said Ulrich. Aelita nodded and the two of them exited the gym and crossed the lawn to the bench they usually sat at.

"Hey it's Yumi!" Exclaimed Aelita.

Yumi was walking out of the north building with William and all the other ninth graders. The ninth graders had their geography exam the same time as the eighth graders had their science exam, but they got to take their exam in the air conditioned testing building.

As William walked along side Yumi, he focused on what he was going to say to her later that evening. He would finally confront Yumi about his feelings for her.

"There's Ulrich and Aelita, see you later William!" Said Yumi as she waved to Aelita and Ulrich.

"Hang on Yumi!" Said William. He grabbed her arm so she wouldn't walk away. She gave him a questioning gaze.

"Meet me at the library tonight at eight." Said William. He slid his fingers down her arm until he was holding her hand. Yumi looked confused. "Why? Do you want to study for our physics exam?" Their physics exam was two days away.

"Uh, yeah…" Said William. He was nervous that if he told Yumi why he wanted her to meet him there that she might not come. Yumi smiled. "Sounds good William! See you tonight." She slipped her hand from his grasp and headed towards Ulrich and Aelita.

"What was that all about?" Asked Ulrich as Yumi sat down on the bench between him and Aelita.

"Nothing. He just wants to study tonight." Yumi shrugged. "Where's Jeremy and Odd?"

Yumi got her answer when Odd ran out of the gym towards them gasping. "Finally! I'm out of that sauna! Yumi, you don't know, how lucky you are, to be able to test in that air conditioned building!" Said Odd in between breaths. He plopped down next to Aelita.

"Quit complaining Odd, It wasn't that bad." Aelita playfully shoved Odd.

"Are you kidding? I almost fainted in that heat!" Odd crossed his eyes and pretended to faint. He fell sideways into Aelita and laid his head across her legs.

"Wow Odd you should win a Grammy." Said Ulrich sarcastically. Yumi laughed.

"Now get off you purple haired freak." Aelita joked. She laughed again as Odd whimpered. "But I like it here!" Odd rested his head on her legs so that he was looking up at her. "It's very comfy." Aelita smiled down at Odd and he smiled back up at her. Suddenly, a strange jolt shot through Aelita. _That's Weird. _She thought to herself. _Never felt that before. _

"Odd, what's Jeremy doing in there?" Asked Ulrich as he looked over at the gym doors. Jeremy still hadn't come out.

"He was talking to Mrs. Hertz about an error in the exam." Odd continued to hold the gaze with Aelita. He couldn't help but notice that she looked really pretty the way the noon sun cast delicate shadows across her face.

"There he is." Said Yumi. She pointed at the short blond that was sprinting across the lawn.

"Hey Jer…" Ulrich began. But Jeremy ran right past them and through the door that lead to the hallway containing the dorms.

"Where's he going? It's lunch time!" Odd exclaimed as he sat up. "I'm hungry!"

"Me too Odd. Let's just go eat before all the food is gone and Jeremy can catch up later." Yumi stood up and stretched. Ulrich and Odd got up too.

"Coming Aelita?" Asked Odd. He offered a hand to help her up. Aelita smiled. "I'll catch up in a minute. I need to talk to Jeremy." She took Odds hand and he hoisted her up. Aelita stumbled into Odd, a little surprised by his strength, and suddenly felt another jolt sweep through her. _There's that strange feeling again. _Aelita said goodbye to her friends and turned in the direction of the dorm rooms.

…..

Aelita walked into Jeremy's room. He had his back to her and was typing away on his computer.

"Hey Jeremy." Said Aelita happily as she sat down on his bed.

"Hi." Jeremy didn't even turn around.

"Whatcha doin?" Aelita quoted one of her favorite Disney channel characters.

"Working on the antivirus. You know it's very interesting how Xana was able to decode a human's DNA and implant a digital copy…."Jeremy droned on about computers and despite Aelita's effort to listen, she started to zone out. Her thoughts drifted to Odd and the strange jolts she felt around him a few moments ago. Aelita couldn't help but wonder if Odd had felt them too. _Was it Xana? _She thought to herself. _Nah. _The jolts didn't hurt her; they just felt strange, like there were butterflies in her stomach that started to flutter around whenever she was close to Odd.

"Aelita? Aelita!" Jeremy's voice brought Aelita back down to earth.

"Yes Jeremy?" She asked.

"You were humming and it was awfully bothersome. I was having trouble focusing on my work." Jeremy turned back to his computer screen.

"Sorry Jeremy." Aelita said quietly.

"Aelita if you just came here because you were bored I'm afraid I'm going to half to ask you to leave. I have a lot of work to do and I could do so without the pointless distractions." Jeremy didn't even turnaround from his computer. He just continued to type away on the computer key board. _Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap._

Aelita jumped up. "I'm not pointlessly distracting you! I had a question to ask you!" Aelita realized that she had balled her hands into fists and quickly sat down again to regain her calmness.

"Fine. What's your question?"

Aelita took a deep breath. "Well, since you are going to leave early for summer vacation, I was wondering if you wanted to do something this evening. Just you and me so we could have a little time together before you go." Aelita walked across the room and placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "We could go do something fun."

"Like what?" Jeremy's eyes remained glued to the computer screen.

"We could go mini golfing!" Aelita said excitedly. "There's this great place up town where they have this,"

Jeremy didn't let Aelita finish. "I don't like mini golf."

Aelita frowned and withdrew her hand from his shoulder. "Oh. Ummmmm… how about we…" Aelita snapped her fingers as a light bulb went off in her head. "We could go rock climbing!"

"A pointless task of climbing a plastic rock structure set at a vertical angle? No thanks." Jeremy didn't even glance at Aelita.

"How about paintball?"

"Too messy."

"Lazer tag?"

"Mindless childish violence."

"We could go get ice cream."

"Frozen sugar and fat, gross."

"Roller skating?"

"Too dangerous."

Aelita was getting angry. "How on earth is roller skating dangerous?" She threw her hands up in frustration.

"Someone could fall and break a leg." Jeremy said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Aelita rolled her eyes and glared at the blond boy who hadn't once made eye contact with her since she entered the room. "Jeremy, you're not going to fall and break a leg." Jeremy mumbled something but Aelita was already running down the hall to the cafeteria where her friends were.

**Ok so this is how they do final exams in our school. They put four hundred desks in our huge gym and cram the entire grade in there for three hours. And it's HOT! And you need someone to escort you to the bathrooms! And they come around and collect your cell phones! But the good news is that you can wear your pajamas so it's ok.**


	2. Chapter 2: It's A Date

**Please review my story! New chapters will be up every Tuesday and Friday and on special occasions, Saturdays! I do not own Code Lyoko or any of its characters.**

Chapter two

"Odd slow down!" Ulrich laughed as Odd wolfed down another slice of pizza.

"Eating that fast isn't good for you!" Yumi's eyes widened as Odd swallowed his third piece of pizza.

"Says you!" Odd defensively stuck his tongue out at Ulrich and Yumi who were sitting across from him. Aelita walked into the cafeteria and crossed the crowded lunch room, passed the lunch line, and to the booth that they usually sat at. Aelita plopped down next to Odd in the booth and sighed.

"What's wrong princess?" Odd set his fourth piece of pizza back down on his tray much to Ulrich and Yumi's surprise.

"Nothing." Aelita propped her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands.

"Come on spill." Ulrich said. He crossed his arms and leaned forward, anticipating an answer.

Aelita sighed. "I asked Jeremy if he wanted to do anything tonight but he just made all these excuses."

Yumi leaned forward. "Let me guess. He was doing something that involves computers?"

Aelita nodded. Yumi crossed her arms and leaned back.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Figures."

The corners of Odd's lips twitched into a grin. "Yeah, it's like he's married to his lap top!"

The four of them laughed. Odd turned to Aelita. "I know what we can do Aelita. The four of us can go see a movie! We don't have any testing tomorrow so we can stay up real late!"

Aelita smiled. "I'd love to do that Odd!"

Yumi frowned. "Sorry guys. I promised William that I would study with him in the library tonight at eight."

"Yeah and I promised some friends from soccer that we'd run some drills tonight." Ulrich had been elected the captain of the soccer team and he had been taking it very seriously. He pushed his teammates to their limit making sure they gave 100% and it showed. The soccer team had gotten much better with Ulrich as the captain.

Odd turned to Aelita. "I guess it's just you and me tonight Aelita." The butterflies fluttered around her stomach.

**Yep. It's short. I know. But more is on its way!**


	3. Chapter 3: Firsts

**Please review my story! New chapters will be up every Tuesday and Friday and on special occasions, Saturdays! Ok let's see... I do not own Code Lyoko or any of its characters, I do not own the Pepsi or Coke Companies, I do not own the song Kung Fu Fighting, and I do not own Kung Fu Panda.**

In the girls dorm hallway

Odd hesitantly knocked on Aelita's door. A moment later the door swung open.

"Hey Odd!" Aelita smiled at her purple friend.

"Hi! Ready to go Princess Aelita?" Odd offered his arm and Aelita laughed. She looped her arm through his and the two began walking down the hall.

"Where are you taking me?" Aelita glanced at him. Being so close she could smell the sweet cologne Odd was wearing. _That's weird. Odd's wearing cologne, for me?_

"That my friend, is a surprise." Aelita rolled her eyes but a small smile crept up her lips, Lips that Odd noticed were glossed and pinker than usual. _Aelita is wearing makeup. _Odd thought to himself. _For me?_

"Well can you at least give me a hint?" Aelita stopped and gave him a pleading look. Odd turned to her. It was the first time he really looked at her that night. Nothing was really different about Aelita except for the lip gloss, but Odd was still taken aback by her beauty like he always was since the first day he met her.

"No hints!" Odd cried. Aelita laughed. The same laugh that made Odd's heart flutter every time.

…..

Out side

Yumi walked by the soccer field on her way to the library. Like Ulrich had said earlier, he and some other guys from the soccer team were practicing. Yumi looked at her phone. 7:45 pm. She had fifteen minutes before she would meet William in the library. Yumi climbed the bleachers to the top and set her bag down on the cool metal seat. She sat down and leaned against the cool surface to watch the boys play.

Not noticing that they had an audience, some of the boys took off their shirts to cool down as they scrimmaged five on five. Ulrich peeled off his shirt and tossed it to the side before stealing the ball from Adam. Yumi watched in awe as Ulrich dribbled up the field and passed the ball to Colin, who dribbled up the side. Ulrich continued to run towards the goal, and stopped a few feet in front of it. Yumi carefully watched Ulrich. She couldn't be sure, but it was as if Ulrich was waiting for something.

And indeed he was. Colin kicked the ball, launching it high in the air. It spun high in the sky and over the goalies head, but it wouldn't go in to the net, Colin had kicked it too wide. But Yumi realized that Colin had done this on purpose, because Ulrich, who had been waiting patiently to the left of the goalie, headed it into the net. _Swoosh. _

Colin high fived Ulrich. And some other teammates came over to congratulate Ulrich.

"Nice job bro!"

"That was awesome Colin!"

"Great job!"

"Nice header Ulrich!"

Colin nudged Ulrich. He pointed towards the bleachers. Ulrich was surprised to see Yumi chilling on the bleachers, smiling and waving at him. Ulrich waved back.

"Go say hi dude!" Colin encouragingly shoved Ulrich in the direction of the bleachers.

"Ok. Five minute water break you guys!" Ulrich sprinted towards Yumi. He grabbed his water bottle from the bottom bench of the bleachers and started to climb up the steps.

"Hey." Ulrich plopped down beside Yumi on the top bench of the bleachers.

"Hey. Nice header by the way."

"Thanks, but it was Colin's good pass that you should be congratulating." Ulrich looked down the rows of bleachers at Colin and the other guys on his team. Some of them were laying on the bleachers, trying to catch their breath, or greedily gulping down the water in their water bottles. Colin and some other guys however, were screwing around and wrestling. Ulrich smiled at his teammates. Besides Yumi, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita, his teammates were the closest friends he had.

"Fine." Yumi looked down at Colin. "Hey Colin! Nice pass!" She yelled down at Colin. He turned and looked up at her, smiling. "Thanks Yumi!" He yelled back before turning back to the other guys he was wrestling with and putting Adam in a head lock.

Ulrich laughed and took a few gulps from his water bottle. Yumi watched the stray drops of water run down his chin and on to his bare chest. She blushed when she realized she had been staring at his toned, strong, chest and Abs for a while.

Ulrich looked at his watch. "Jeez! Eight already?"

Yumi gasped and grabbed her bag. "Sorry Ulrich I'd love to stay and chat but I promised William I'd study with him tonight!"

Ulrich shrugged. "It's ok. I should probably get back to practicing with these barbarians anyways." Yumi laughed at Ulrich's joke. "Later Ulrich!" She said before sprinting down the steps towards the library.

Ulrich looked back down at his teammates. They were all staring at him.

"Barbarians, eh?" Cried Colin with a mischievous grin on his face. Ulrich knew all too well what that grin meant. "Get Ulrich!" Cried Colin. He charged up the steps laughing with the rest of the team in tow.

…..

Out at the movie theatre

Odd and Aelita stood in line to get their tickets. The movie theatre was buzzing with people and the occasional _POW POW _would be heard from the arcade. The light scent of buttery popcorn drifted through the air making Odd's mouth water. Aelita laughed.

"Ok so we're going to see a movie? It better not be a bad one Odd!" Aelita said to Odd.

"Nope. It's going to be awesome. But I have to warn you that it won't be one of those extraordinarily interesting documentaries about computers that Jeremy always watches." Aelita and Odd laughed.

"Good. I'm sick of those." Aelita said a little more quietly. This threw Odd off.

"Really? I thought you were in to those." Odd cocked an eyebrow at her and put his hands in his pockets.

Aelita shook her head. "Nope. I hate them. The only reason I watch them is because that's all Jeremy will want to watch if I suggest a movie." Aelita sighed and Odd felt bad. Jeremy didn't deserve Aelita. She was willing to sit through hours of boring computer talk but Jeremy wasn't willing to roller skate with Aelita? Jeremy was sick.

Just then it was there turn to buy tickets. "Two tickets to Kung Fu Panda." Said Odd happily as he handed the man across the counter some bills. Aelita started to laugh. "Kung Fu Panda? Really Odd?"

A look of worry shot across Odd's face. "Why? Do you want to see something else? Cause we can see anything you want Princess. Heck, we don't even have to see a movie…" Aelita quickly silenced him.

"No Odd! I've actually been wanting to see this movie for a while." Odd smiled. He took the tickets from the man and they went over to the snack counter and got in line.

"Why didn't you?" Odd asked. He ordered them a large bucket of popcorn and two sodas. A cherry Pepsi for Odd and a diet coke for Aelita. Aelita smiled to herself as Odd ordered her diet coke. _He even knows my favorite kind of soda._

"I don't know. Jeremy said that Kung Fu Panda was stupid and that I shouldn't see it."

"You know Aelita; you don't have to do everything Jeremy says. It's not like he owns you or anything." Odd took her hands and gently rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles. Aelita shivered in delight under his touch and blushed. "I know but, I feel like I'm in dept to him for freeing me from the super computer." She sighed.

Odd was amazed. "But don't you um, you know, like him?" Aelita sighed again. "I might have a long time ago. But now, the sparks just aren't there. I try to get him to do fun things with me, but he'd rather just work on his computer or the antivirus. The thing is though, when I hang out with other guys, he gets jealous and he tells me I can't."

Hearing this made Odd very angry. He hugged Aelita. "Aelita, you are free do whatever ever you want, date whoever you want, and be whatever you want. Jeremy might have freed you from the super computer, but you crafted your own life."

Aelita smiled and hugged Odd back. "Thanks Odd." The two of them walked hand in hand into the theatre that Kung Fu Panda would be showed in a few minutes.

…

Back in the library

Yumi rushed into the library. "Sorry I'm late William!" She dropped her bag on the table that William was sitting at and plopped down in the chair across from him.

"That's alright Yumi." He said smiling at her.

"Ready to study?" Yumi's eyes looked from William, to the table. He hadn't brought any books, flash cards, or any study materials for that matter with him. "William, how are we supposed to study if you didn't bring anything?" She asked crossing her arms.

A mischievous smile appeared on Williams face. "Yeah, about that…" William took Yumi's hand and guided her through the maze of book shelves to the far corner of the library.

Open windows lined one of the walls to let a summer breeze into the room. William led her to the window seat and they sat down. The sky had gotten dark, too dark to see anything outside. It was peaceful until William broke the silence.

"We need to talk."

….

At the soccer field

"Ok guys nice practice." Said Ulrich to his team mates. "But it's getting dark. Let's call it a night. Remember, tomorrow's game starts at three, but I want you all there at two o'clock. We're going to have to work hard if we're going to beat our rivals, LakePort in this last game of the season." The team split apart and grabbed their bags to go back to their dorms. While Ulrich grabbed his water bottle from the top bleacher bench, he found Yumi's phone. _She must have dropped it before she left._ Thought Ulrich.

"Hey Ulrich you coming or what?" Colin called up to Ulrich.

"I gotta go do something first." Ulrich grabbed his shirt and water bottle. He hesitated with his shirt. He was still too hot so he just tossed it in his bag. Ulrich waved good bye to Colin before heading towards the library with Yumi's phone.

As Ulrich approached the library door, he was stopped by the sound of Yumi and Williams voices drifting through the open windows nearby. Ulrich quickly crouched down. He crawled over to the windows and peered through a bush at Yumi and William who were sitting at a window seat inside, only a few feet away.

"Yumi, there's something I've been wanting to tell you." Ulrich watched in horror as William placed his hands on her hips and leaned his face towards Yumi's. He was going to kiss her. Ulrich felt so much anger in his system that it took all of his strength not to scream. Ulrich was about to run, get as far away as he could from the scene that he was watching, but something held him back. Some unknown force kept his eyes glued to the two of them, like the universe wanted him to see something that was about to happen.

"What are you doing?" Yumi cried. She pushed William away in disgust and stood up.

"I'm trying to do this." William stood and gripped her waist again, but more tightly and tried to kiss her again.

Yumi slapped him. "Stop it!" She yelled.

William brought his hand to his burning cheek. "Why did you do that?" He yelled at Yumi.

"Because you tried to kiss me!" Yumi yelled back.

"So?" Yelled William. He tried to make another grab for Yumi but she slapped him again, much harder than the last time.

"So?" Screamed Yumi. "What in Hell's name drove you to do that?"

"Because I like you, and I thought you liked me!" William Screamed. Yumi gaped at William for a moment before she slapped him _again._ Ulrich would have enjoyed William getting slapped by Yumi if it were any other moment.

"I do not like you William! I like you as a friend but after that crap move you just pulled I don't even think we can be friends!"Yumi was getting very angry. Ulrich could almost see the arrows of hate aiming at William.

"It's Ulrich!" William clenched his fists in anger. The look of hatred disappeared from Yumi's face and was replaced by confusion. For a moment Ulrich was worried that William had discovered his hiding spot, but the thought went away because William had his back to the window.

"Ulrich? Did he set you up to do this?" Confusion spread through Yumi like waves.

"Bloody No Yumi!" William pushed Yumi much to her surprise. "It's Ulrich isn't it?" William screamed.

"What?" This threw Yumi off. "What are you talking about?" She screamed.

William started pacing. "I see the way you look at him! The way you blush when he gives you compliments, the way you get goose bumps when he hugs you!"

Ulrich fell over when William said this. Twigs and thorns nicked at his bare chest. _Does she really do all that?_ Thought Ulrich. William must be lying. There's no way Yumi liked Ulrich.

"So? Maybe I do like him! He's cool and funny and sweet and brave…" Yumi said a little quieter. She was blushing very intensely and looked like she wanted to crawl in a hole. Ulrich started to blush to. His heart skipped. _She does like me._

"What does he have that I don't? For god's sake Yumi he's a whole year younger than you!" William yelled.

"I'm only older than him by two weeks!" Yumi screamed. This was true. Yumi was born in late December and Ulrich was born in early January a few weeks after Yumi. Yumi met the age requirement for the class of 2014 but Ulrich missed the dead line by three days. He was put into the class that would graduate in 2015.

William sputtered for a moment. He couldn't think of anything to say. He threw his hands up in frustration. "Ahhh!" He yelled at the sky. Yumi took the chance to slip away. Yumi picked up her bag and headed towards the exit.

Realizing that he was about to be discovered, Ulrich quickly ran.

…..

Coming home from the movie

"Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!" Odd and Aelita sang as they walked home from the movie.

"Those kicks were fast as lightning!" Sang Aelita. She licked her ice cream cone. Odd had gotten chocolate and she had gotten strawberry. Odd had actually ordered it for her, and she was surprised that he knew her favorite type of ice cream too.

"You know Odd; you didn't have to pay for the movie and ice cream. I would have paid if you let me." Aelita licked her ice cream cone again.

"I know, but I wanted to." Odd put his free arm around Aelita's shoulders as they neared Kadiac.

…

Back at Kadiac

Yumi pushed open the doors and started to sprint towards the large open iron gates. She ran past a large oak.

"Hey." Said Ulrich.

The sound of some ones voice nearly gave her a heart attack. She tripped and flew to the ground.

"Oh jeez! I'm sorry Yumi! I didn't mean to scare you!"

Yumi sat up. Ulrich was sitting under the oak with concern sprawled on his face. His chest she noticed, was still bare.

"I'm fine." She said crawling over to him. Yumi sat down in front of him and rubbed her shin. Blood soaked through the denim.

"Here" Ulrich gently rolled up the pant leg. He pulled a clean wash cloth from his bag and gently dabbed at her leg, washing away the blood. They both were madly blushing.

"What are you still doing here?" Yumi asked as she watched Ulrich dab her wound.

"You dropped your cell phone in the bleachers." He said handing Yumi her cell phone with his free hand.

"And I…"Ulrich hesitated with what he was about to say next.

"And you what?" Yumi asked curiously.

"And I heard your fight with William." Ulrich stopped dabbing her leg and looked at Yumi. She grew pale.

"How much did you hear?" Asked Yumi as she bit her lip.

"Well, um, kind of everything." Ulrich started to blush and so did Yumi.

"I should go." Yumi got up to go and started walking. Ulrich quickly sprang up and went after her.

"Yumi wait!" Yumi turned. Ulrich tripped as he ran towards her and knocked them over. They rolled to a halt on the ground with Yumi lying on top of Ulrich.

She blushed. "Sorry." Yumi realized their position. Her chest was pressed against his bare one, and her arms were around his neck and his around her waist. She didn't move, and neither did Ulrich. They just stared at each other.

Yumi brought her lips down to meet his. Ulrich lifted his head, yearning to feel her lips press against his. Yumi longed for his taste, his touch. Their lips were three inches apart, two inches apart, one inch apart, half an inch apart, half a _centimeter _apart and then, and then…

"What's going on here?" Yelled Odd. Yumi jumped off of Ulrich much to his dismay. Aelita and Odd fell over laughing.

"Sorry we interrupted your make out session!" Aelita was laughing so hard, tears actually slid down her cheeks.

"I didn't think you had it in you Ulrich!" Odd eyed Ulrich's bare chest and laughed even harder.

Yumi and Ulrich were blushing so hard; Aelita was worried that they might explode. The thought just made her giggle even more.

"Would you two cut it out!" Yelled Ulrich. Aelita and Odd kept rolling on the ground laughing.

Yumi looked at her phone. 8:50pm. "I got to get home. My parents will be really angry if I miss my curfew."

"Bye Yumi." Ulrich whispered.

"Bye Ulrich." Yumi whispered back. She turned and walked away, but not soon enough to hide the smile that crept onto her lips. Lips Ulrich realized, that he had almost kissed again. The thought made Ulrich smile, and he turned away from his two friends that were laughing on the ground and walked to the dorm building.

…

Eventually, Odd and Aelita's laughter died down.

"Oh my gosh." Aelita sat up and smiled.

"I know." Odd wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and stood up.

"Whew! That just made my day." Aelita smiled as Odd helped her up. The two of them started walking towards the dorm building.

"They should just get over themselves and ask each other out already." Odd said as they walked through the girls dorm hallway. Aelita nodded her head in agreement. They had reached her room.

"Thanks Odd, I really had fun tonight." Aelita said, looking at the ground.

"Anytime princess." Odd stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Night." Aelita opened the door to her room.

"Um, Aelita?"

"Yes Odd?" Aelita turned back to Odd. He was smiling.

"Would you like do something like this again?" Odd blushed.

Aelita hugged him. "I'd love to." She whispered in his ear. They drew apart.

"Cool." Odd's smile grew wider. Aelita suddenly had a daring idea.

" Hey Odd, you still have some ice cream on your face." Aelita smiled as he franticly wiped at his cheeks.

"Really, where?" Odd asked.

"Right here." Aelita kissed him on the cheek. Odd almost melted under her touch. Just as soon as it had begun, it was over. Aelita withdrew and quickly retreated to her room, lightly shutting the door with a _click._ Odd smiled, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back to his room.

…

Odd opened their dorm room door. Ulrich lay on his bed, gazing at the ceiling.

…

Yumi was laying on her bed when her phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, hey Aelita."

...

"So how was your date with Aelita?" Teased Ulrich to Odd.

"It wasn't a date!" Odd blushed and smiled.

…

"So how was your date with Odd?" Yumi asked Aelita over the phone.

"It wasn't a date!" Aelita blushed and smiled.

…

"And how was your make out session with Yumi?" Teased Odd.

Ulrich blushed.

"Or, almost make out session." Asked Odd.

Ulrich smiled.

…

"And how was your make out session with Yumi?" Teased Aelita.

Yumi blushed.

"Or, almost make out session." Asked Aelita.

Yumi smiled.

…

"I just have one request Odd."

"I just have one request Aelita."

Aelita and Odd patiently waited for their best friend to go on.

"Next time, could you just wait one more second?" Yumi and Ulrich said at the exact same time.

**Yup. Yumi and Ulrich didn't kiss. Or should I say, they haven't kissed **_**YET**_**.** **;) Oh and you know that kid Colin? Ulrich's friend? Don't forget him. He might be important later…**


	4. Chapter 4: Kadiac vs Lakeport

**Please review my story! New chapters will be up every Tuesday and Friday and on special occasions, Saturdays! All righty, I don't own Code Lyoko or any of its characters. I do not own ****To kill a****mockingbird**** – nope. That credit should go to Harper Lee, the author of the book. I do not own Ke$ha either but that is a total der factor. This is just a simple figure of expression and is fashioned strictly intended for reader's pleasure and NOT for a profit. See? I know big words too so Ha. I would like to dedicate this chapter to our soccer team's rivals whose name I will not announce. You guys better look out, when we play you this June you're going to get crushed. :)**

Aelita kicked the blankets from her bed. She continued to murmur in her sleep, quietly crying out Odd's name. It wasn't like any other nightmare she had experienced, and maybe not as bad as the other ones, but Aelita continued to roll around, franticly kicking and looking for a way out of the dream.

_Princess Aelita sobbed into the rickety brick flooring. She called out for help but it was pointless. Aelita was sitting in a tall tower forty feet from the ground in a virtual universe. All alone. JeremEvil had locked her in this tower, refusing to let her out until the princess agreed to be his bride. But alas, she could not love him. For her heart belonged to another._

_The princess cried and cried and cried for years. All alone in the dark tower for almost an eternity, her pink hair grew very long. _

_Finally, the man that her heart belonged to found her. Prince Odd Charming had finally found his lost princess after years of searching._

"_Princess Aelita, let down your hair." The prince cried out. A wave of pink curls descended out the tower window and he began climbing towards his love. He was almost reunited with her, almost to the window, almost holding her hand when JeremEvil's sword came from nowhere and devirtualized the prince forever. _

"_No!"The princess cried. "Odd!"_

"Odd!" Aelita shot out of bed in a cold sweat. Tears stung her cheeks and she briskly wiped them away.

"Aelita!" Sissy barged into the room. "Stop screaming for your cousin and go to bed!" Sissy slammed the door. Aelita sighed. She pulled out the book she was reading and turned on her bedside lamp. There was no point in sleeping if she was just going to have more nightmares. Aelita cracked open to page thirty four in To kill a Mockingbird

Later at the soccer field

"Ready? Ok! Kick in hard, kick it far, come on Kadiac Cougars you are the stars!" The cheerleaders erupted in a frenzy of squeals and cartwheels. They waved their pompoms and hopped around, trying to rouse the crowd up. The crowd responded in blank stares and subtle yawns.

The Kadiac boys soccer team was losing one to seven against LakePort. The only reason Kadiac got the one point was because Kadiac got a penalty shot on goal. It was almost half time and the game wasn't looking too good for Kadiac.

"Come on Cougars, come on Cougars go! Come on Cougars, come on Cougars steal the show!" The cheerleaders wiggled their pompoms and did some high kicks, but their efforts reached no avail. Sissy, the co-captain of the cheerleading squad, angrily placed her hands on her hips. "Oh come on!" Sissy yelled at the crowd. "Don't you people have any school spirit?"

Odd booed Sissy and tossed an empty can of soda at her. Sissy glared back up at Odd.

Yumi glared at Odd too. "Come on Odd, they're just trying to help."

"I guess." Odd brought his attention back to the soccer field as LakePort scored another goal. "Ah man! Ulrich's team is dying out there!" Odd watched as Ulrich angrily kicked at the grass.

Yumi sighed. "Yeah I know. I feel so bad for Ulrich. He practiced really hard for this game and now they're losing eight to one, and it's not even half time!" Yumi propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands.

Odd sighed and brought his attention to Aelita who had been awfully quiet sitting next to him. He was a little startled when he noticed that Aelita was resting her head on his shoulder. Odd melted at the sight. Aelita was asleep. Odd brushed a lock of pink hair from her perfect face and gently stroked her cheek.

"Yumi she's asleep." Odd whispered to Yumi. Yumi smiled at the sleeping angel. "Poor thing. She didn't get any sleep last night. She said she had nightmares." Yumi turned back to the game and sighed. LakePort had scored another goal.

Jeremy ran up the bleachers and plopped down beside Yumi. "What did I miss?" He panted.

"Just the entire first half!" Yumi spat angrily as the ref blew the whistle signaling half time.

Jeremy shrugged. "Sorry. I was…" Jeremy began.

"…working on your computer. Yeah, yeah I've heard it all before." Yumi crossed her arms and leaned back. Jeremy shrugged again and turned to Aelita and Odd. Jeremy suspiciously eyed Odd who had Aelita's head on his shoulder. "What are you doing?" Jeremy asked Odd, trying to conceal his jealousy.

Odd smiled. "Letting sleeping beauty get her beauty rest."

Jeremy ground his teeth together. "Well maybe you should wake her up."

Yumi shook her head. "Don't wake her up. Let her sleep." Odd nodded and moved Aelita's head so that it was resting on Odd's chest in a more comfortable position. Jeremy clenched his fists. "Maybe you should let me hold her." The idea was put away when Aelita cuddled against Odd in her sleep. Jeremy angrily stared at the two. He couldn't take it. "Hey Aelita! Wake up!" Jeremy yelled.

Aelita's eyes fluttered open and her gaze fell on Odd who was looking down at her with loving eyes. "Well hello there princess." Aelita lifted her head from Odd's comfy chest. "Hi Odd." Aelita realized that she had fallen asleep partially on Odd and blushed. She turned to the soccer field and watched the ref blow his whistle signaling the end of half time. "How's the game going?"

Jeremy intercepted. "Hey Aelita." Jeremy tried to move to sit in between Aelita and Odd, but Yumi's long legs blocked him. "Kadiac is being crushed." Yumi responded to Aelita's question. "With no encouragement from the crowd Ulrich's team is going to lose." Yumi stood up and began to walk down the bleachers.

"Yumi what are you doing?" Odd yelled.

"Something I know I'm going to regret later." Yumi yelled back. Aelita, Odd, and Jeremy stared in amazement as Yumi went up to the cheerleaders. Well, Aelita and Odd watched Yumi. Jeremy was staring at the little space between Aelita's thigh and Odd's.

Aelita and Odd watched as Yumi walked up to the cheerleaders. Yumi said something to Kylie, the team captain. Kylie hesitantly responded back. Aelita and Odd strained to hear, but they couldn't. Yumi said something that must have upset Sissy, because at that moment Sissy started waving her arms around angrily, and yelling at Yumi. Ignoring Sissy, Kylie nodded at Yumi and turned to the rest of the squad.

"Can you hear them?" Aelita asked Odd. Odd shook his head. "Nope."

Aelita sighed. "What do you think Yumi's planning?" Her question was answered when the cheerleaders lined up with Yumi in the middle. "Hey! Hey! Look over here! Hey! Hey! We don't have all year!" They chanted. The crowd turned to the cheerleaders. "Hey! Hey! Look over here," Yumi erupted in a series of back handsprings and back flips. "Kadiac Cougars have no fear!" The crowd cheered as Yumi landed her fifth back flip. Ulrich's soccer team started to advance at the sudden boost of energy from the crowd.

"Y-E-L-L , every yell Go Cougars! Hey! Go Cougars! Hey!" Yumi did another back flip and the crowd started cheering. They continued like that. The cheerleaders doing the cheers Yumi told them to do and Yumi would do her gymnastics. As the crowds cheers grew louder, the boys soccer team got better. They started to score.

"You might be good at football, you might be good at track. But when it comes to soccer, you might as well step back!" To emphasize the step back part, Yumi did a row of back handsprings backwards and finished with a split. The crowds cheering grew louder. Aelita cheered. "Wow! Yumi's amazing!"

Odd nodded. "She is." The two of them locked eyes, and for a moment, it was like they were the only ones in the world. Aelita started to lean forward, towards him, wanting to feel his lips brush against hers. Odd leaned forward too, wanting to finally kiss his secret love, but then he remembered that Jeremy, and the whole school for that matter, was watching. Odd quickly drew back, hoping that no one saw what they were about to do. Luckily, the crowd was too busy watching Yumi tumble to notice them. Jeremy, on the other hand, was angrily watching the two. He glared at Odd and was about to say something, when a sudden blow of the ref's whistle silenced him. They turned to the field.

"The game is a tie. We will go into overtime. First team to score another goal wins." The ref blew his whistle and over time began. Ulrich dribbled up the field and passed it to Adam.

"Hey, hey, it's time to fight! Everybody yell go blue and white! Blue and white! Hey! Hey! Let's do it again! Everybody yell go fight win! Go fight win! Go fight win!" The cheerleader cheered as Yumi did a back flip twist. The crowd was cheering on the Cougars like crazy. Yumi ran up the bleachers and people stuck their hands out to high five her. Yumi slapped hands as she charged up the stairs. Yumi plopped down next to Odd, Aelita, and Jeremy. Odd tossed her a bottle of water and she eagerly drank it. "So are you going to commit suicide now?" Odd joked. Yumi laughed and shook her head. "Actually, that was kind of fun." Yumi smiled but quickly frowned. "Just, don't tell anyone I said that." Aelita and Odd laughed. Jeremy was still glaring at Odd. Aelita, Odd, and Yumi brought their attention back to the game.

Adam crossed the ball to Henry, and Henry faked out a LakePort defender and was able to get by just to be faced with another defender. Henry passed the ball back to Andrew, and Andrew kicked high up the field to Ulrich.

"Cheer for the Cougars! Cheer for the win! C'mon crowd yell go fight win!" The cheerleaders cheered. The crowd screamed in excitement as Ulrich dribbled past a LakePort defender, and neared the goal. Ulrich passed to Colin who was running up the side of the field to the right of him.

The crowd was wildly screaming and jumping up in excitement, cheering on Colin. Even the cheerleaders broke formation and were hysterically jumping up and down, cheering Colin on.

Colin dribbled up the side to the corner of the field. Ulrich continued running and stopped short of the goal. Colin tapped the ball harder to position it farther in front of himself as he ran top speed, readying the ball for himself to take a shot on goal as he neared the corner.

Colin kicked.

The ball flew high in the air.

Over several LakePort player's head's.

Towards the net.

But it was wide.

It wouldn't go in.

Everyone was standing up, unable to contain their exhilaration sitting down. "It's not gonna make it!" Aelita screamed as she clutched Odd's arm. But Yumi knew better. She knew what Ulrich had planned.

The goalie didn't see Ulrich on the other side of him.

All the goalie saw was the wide ball safely crossing the net.

The goalie made the mistake of letting the ball pass.

Letting the ball pass in front of Ulrich.

Ulrich launched foreword.

_Thud._

The ball bounced from Ulrich's head.

It flew through the air towards the net.

And,

And,

_Swoosh._

Ulrich scored.

The crowd cheered like crazy. Yumi screamed and jumped into the air. Aelita hugged Odd and Jeremy shook in surprise at the sudden burst of cheering. Ulrich dropped to his knees and tore his shirt off, and threw his head back, pumping his fists in the air. Colin raced over to Ulrich and tackled him with a hug. The rest of team raced over to them and piled on top of each other, laughing and yelling in excitement.

The crowd flooded the field, cheering and screaming. Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremy ran through the chaos to Ulrich. Ulrich stood up from the dog pile only to be quickly knocked down by Yumi who tackled him in a hug. Aelita and Odd followed and leaped on top of Yumi and Ulrich and left Jeremy chuckling in the sea of sports fans and soccer players.

Aelita and Odd rolled off of Yumi and Ulrich, and ran over to Colin and tackled him in a hug too. They left Yumi lying on top of a shirtless Ulrich, but this time, neither Ulrich nor Yumi blushed. Ulrich just smiled up at Yumi. "Why do we keep finding ourselves in this position?" Asked Ulrich as he brushed a lock of Yumi's hair from her face. Yumi threw her head back and laughed before playfully punching Ulrich in the arm.

**Woohoo! Go Kadiac Cougars! Sorry it took so long, I was on vacation and spending a lot of time at the beach. Oh and do NOT forget about Colin. I have confirmed the fact that he will be a significant character in later chapters, but I refuse to give you any hints! :) Until my next post, Ke$ha later!**

** ~PSRose**


	5. Chapter 5: Forwardness

**I don't know if I'm going crazy, but for all the AelitaxOdd fanfics, Aelita's name always comes before Odd's. Really. Push the back arrow and look at all the AelitaxOdd fanfics. Right next to the date published it will say Aelita S. & Odd D. I'm not even joking it's so weird! OMG! I am eating a French toast muffin! Yay! I still don't own code Lyoko or any of its characters, I don't own the song Firework, Katy Perry was the one who wrote it.**

_Baby you're a fire work! C'mon let your colors burst!_

Aelita moaned at the sudden burst of sound. She rolled over in bed and reached out to turn the alarm clock off. She let her hand hover over the off button for a moment, allowing Katy Perry's sweet voice to fill her ears.

_You don't have to feel, like a waste of space. You're original, cannot be replaced._

_If you only knew, what the future holds. After a hurricane comes a rainbow._

Aelita pressed the off button, smiling at the thought. _After a hurricane comes a rainbow. _She thought to herself. Aelita rolled out of bed and moved towards her closet. She quickly grabbed her toiletries bag and a change of clothes. Aelita wanted to be the first one in the showers so that she could have plenty of hot water for herself. Today was the last day of testing and she had a good feeling that she would get an A.

Aelita opened her door and ran right into Jeremy.

"Oh, good morning Jeremy." Aelita smiled at her friend and began to walk towards the bathroom. Jeremy matched his steps with hers, walking beside her, a little too close.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked skeptically. _Probably to see Odd. _He thought.

"Shower." Aelita held up her towel and toiletries bag.

"Oh." Jeremy smiled relieved. "Do you want to go grab some breakfast?"

"Um, well I'm kind of going to go take a shower." Aelita repeated.

Jeremy mentally kicked himself. "Oh, well do you want to grab some breakfast after you're done?"

"Sure." Aelita reached for the girls bathroom door handle but hesitated and looked at Jeremy.

Jeremy realized what he was doing. "Oh right! I'll wait out here." Jeremy took a few steps back. The act of waiting for her while she took a shower would have dawned on Aelita to be cute a long time ago, but now, it just felt creepy.

"Why don't you just head down to the cafeteria and I'll meet up with you and the others when I'm done." Aelita suggested. Jeremy looked disappointed but nodded his head. He turned and began to walk towards the cafeteria.

…

Aelita turned the handle and sighed in pleasure as the hot water ran down her back. She let the steam envelope her in a cloud of warmth before grabbing her new shampoo. She massaged the white goop into her scalp, its fragrance filling the air with a jasmine aroma.

Before she knew it, her mind was full of images of Odd. Odd laughing at the movies, Odd sprinting in gym class, Odd eating ice cream, Odd saving her on Lyoko, Odd running his hand through her hair, Odd kissing her… Well, the last part she had to imagine in her head because Odd and Aelita had never kissed before. Then another thought dawned on Aelita. Why was she thinking about her and Odd kissing?

Aelita pushed the thought aside and started to think about Xana. He had been awfully quiet lately and Aelita had a feeling that it was not to give the Lyoko warriors a break.

Aelita decided that she would talk to the others about it. She turned off the water and quickly wrapped the warm, fluffy, yellow towel around her petite body. Other girls were entering the bathroom, disturbing Aelita's thoughts. She quickly dressed and made her way out of the girl's bathroom, day dreaming of Odd the entire time. She stared off into space as she walked down the long hallway, unaware that Odd and Ulrich were coming around the corner. She rounded the corner and ran smack into Odd. The impact knocked them both down.

"Whoa! Good morning to you too princess!" Odd laughed and collected his shampoo and towel that had fallen from his arms. Aelita did the same madly blushing. She had just been thinking some not-so- innocent thoughts about her and Odd and of course she had to run right into the person who those thoughts were about. Aelita reached for Odd's bar of soap, but unfortunately Odd had the same idea in mind and their hands both made a grab for it. Odd blushed as his hand brushed Aelita's. She quickly pulled away but not soon enough for them to miss the tickle of energy that shot through their finger tips.

"Sorry." Aelita turned away concealing the darker shade of red that crept up her cheeks. Odd was a little relieved that she couldn't see the crimson blush that was spreading up his cheeks too. He shot Ulrich a warning glance as the brunette held back a laugh.

"That's ok." Odd stood up and offered Aelita a hand. She gladly took it and he hoisted her up. The tickle of energy didn't miss a beat. It took all of Odd's strength to tear his eyes away from her beautiful face, her rosy cheeks, her pearly lips, and her emerald eyes that sparkled.

"You going to breakfast?" Ulrich asked Aelita. She nodded.

"We're going right after we hit the showers. See you there princess!" Odd smiled at his secret love.

"Ok! See you then!" She waved good bye and headed to the cafeteria.

As soon as Aelita was out of ear shot, Ulrich started laughing. "You really like her!" Ulrich sang. Odd blushed and shoved Ulrich before racing him down the hall to the boys bathroom.

…

"You really like him!" Yumi sang. Aelita had just finished telling Yumi about Odd and the strange feelings she felt around him. They were standing in the line for breakfast, and Aelita was blushing like crazy. They took their trays over to their usual table where Jeremy was waiting for them and plopped down across from him.

Right on Cue Ulrich and Odd entered the cafeteria and got their trays. Ulrich sat down next to Jeremy and Odd took the seat next to Aelita. Odd smiled warmly at Aelita. "Good morning again princess." Aelita giggled. Jeremy narrowed his eyes at Odd.

"Mmm what's that fine smell?" Jeremy asked to break the stare Odd and Aelita were having.

"Smells like Jasmine." Ulrich said, sniffing the air.

Aelita smiled. "That's my shampoo." She ran a hand through her hair in satisfactory.

"It smells so good." Odd leaned towards Aelita and buried his face in her pink curls, inhaling deeply. Aelita gasped and shivered in delight as Odd's lips gently brushed against her ear. He swept his lips down her neck, gently parting them and closing them. The others didn't notice, Aelita's hair concealed Odd's lip action like a curtain. Aelita moaned in pleasure as Odd's lips moved up and down her neck, gently biting and licking. Odd had a lot of experience with girls but Aelita didn't mind, Odd's lips felt so good. Odd moaned, wanting to take it farther.

Aelita had closed her eyes in bliss. "More." She whispered so only Odd could hear her.

Odd smiled. He always thought that if he did something like this to Aelita that she would slap him. He certainly didn't expect Aelita to want him to do more. It never occurred to Odd until that moment that Aelita might like him back. Odd would have gladly continued, but then he remembered that Jeremy was right there and he pulled his mouth away from her neck.

Apparently, Aelita's hair did not do a good job concealing the sight within. Yumi and Ulrich were staring at them in surprise, but small smiles crept up their lips. Odd sighed in relief. Jeremy had gotten up to get a napkin so he didn't see what Odd just did with Aelita. Aelita sighed too, but it was a sigh of bliss. Odd laughed and intertwined his fingers with hers under the shelter of the table.

…

"Bye Jeremy! See you in a few months!"

The last exams were over and there was only one more day left until summer vacation. Jeremy was leaving early because his family was taking a trip to Hawaii. Jeremy smiled out the open car window. He leaned out of the window and spoke quietly so his father wouldn't hear. "If you have any Xana problems at all, just call me." The group nodded. Jeremy glanced at Aelita and Odd one last time before rolling up the window and the car pulled away from the curb.

Dark clouds rolled into view overhead. Aelita, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi walked back to Odd and Ulrich's room, where the two boys were packing their suitcases, preparing to leave the following day. Aelita sighed as they entered the room.

Odd worryingly glanced at Aelita. "What's wrong princess?"

Aelita sighed again and looked at Odd and Ulrich. "I'm really going to miss you two."

Odd hugged her quickly followed by Ulrich and Yumi. "Don't worry Aelita." Odd said. "We'll be back before you know it."

Ulrich nodded. "And you'll have Yumi with you all summer to keep you company."

The groups embrace was broken by the sound of wind hitting the window. Yumi walked over to it. The clouds had become thicker and darker, looking very ominous. "Whoa, guys it looks like it's going to rain. I should probably get home." Yumi headed for the door, but Ulrich quickly stood up. "Wait, I'll walk you."

Yumi smiled at the offer, but declined. "No Ulrich that's ok. I don't want you to get soaked if we get caught in the rain. Plus, you have packing to do. See you guys tomorrow." Yumi waved good bye to her friends and started heading down the hall.


	6. Sping Finale: The Storm

**I still do not own Code Lyoko or any of its characters and I'm pretty sure that I never will own it. If I do end up owning Code Lyoko for some weird reason, you guys will definitely know because I'll bring Code Lyoko back to tv! Yay! **

Yumi walked down the hall putting on her jacket. She knew that there was no way she'd be able to beat the rain. Suddenly, a figure appeared around the corner. Surprise, surprise, it was William. Yumi attempted to simply walk past him, but William's arm prevented her from doing so.

Yumi sighed in frustration. "What do you want William?"

Despite her purposeful rudeness, the sly smile did not fall from Williams lips. He beckoned Yumi to enter his room, but Yumi didn't move. She knew all too well what that would lead up to.

"No. If you need to tell me something you can tell me out here." Yumi placed her hands on her hips; an irritated frown sprawled across her lips.

It was William's turn to sigh in frustration. "Fine. I just wanted to say I'm sorry about the fight we had that other day."

Yumi cocked her eyebrow, a little thrown off by the apology. "Thank you William that's very sweet of you to apologize." Yumi again attempted to move past William, but like before his arm blocked her.

"You are a wonderful woman Yumi, and you deserve love." William began. "But, I think that you are confused." William gently took Yumi's hand in his. Yumi rolled her eyes.

"William, I'm not confused." Yumi muttered, snatching her hand away from William. She began to walk away when William grabbed her arm forcefully.

"Yumi. The perfect guy for you has been right in front of your eyes the entire time." William mumbled. Yumi's thoughts drifted to Ulrich and the feelings that she had for him. She blushed. William, mistaking Yumi's blush as a sign that she had feelings for him, smiled. He gently brushed a lock of her hair away from her face.

Yumi smiled at William. "You're right. The perfect guy has been in front of my eyes the entire time." Yumi thought of Ulrich. Yumi gently put her arms around William's neck. William snaked his arms around her waist. Yumi continued. "He's funny and cute. Loving and Sweet." Yumi leaned close and whispered into his ear. "And he's not you." William froze. Yumi spun on her heal and tore out of Williams grasp. She laughed as she continued walking down the hallway, thinking about Ulrich and her feelings for him the entire way.

…

Aelita sat on Odd's bed as Ulrich and Odd packed their suitcases. She tossed a tennis ball against the wall, and it bounced back to her. Kiwi watched in awe as the tennis ball bounced between the pink haired girl's hands and wall. Aelita laughed and tossed the ball to the other side of the room, and Kiwi yipped happily as he chased it. Odd laughed.

"Wow, the rain is really coming down hard." Ulrich said. He stopped packing to look out the window. Drops of rain pelted the glass, sending a drizzle of water flowing down its glossy surface. A sudden flash of light lit up the dark sky, and was followed quickly by a loud boom of thunder.

"Did any one count the seconds between the lightning and thunder?"Odd asked Aelita and Ulrich. They both shook their heads no. "Why does it matter?" Aelita asked Odd. She nervously pet Kiwi.

"Because the number of seconds between a flash of lightning and its thunder can tell you how far away the lightning is." Odd said as he stood up to look out the window. Another flash of lightning. Odd silently counted as he listened for the thunder.

_Boom._

"Six seconds." Odd said as he turned back to Ulrich and Aelita.

Ulrich nodded. "I got that too."

Aelita stroked Kiwi's soft fur anxiously. "So does that mean the lightning is six miles away?"

Odd shook his head. "No. You would divide the number of seconds by five because light travels faster than sound."

Ulrich bit his lip. "Six divided by five is one point two. The lighting is only about a mile away."

Worry shot across Aelita's face as she pulled her knees to her chest. Kiwi shot under the bed in fear as another boom of thunder erupted. Odd crossed the room and sat down next to Aelita. He put a reassuring arm around her.

Another flash of light, and following quickly a loud boom.

Ulrich stood up, suspicion in his eyes. "That was only three seconds."

The room was silent for a moment, until another flash of light filled the room. A crack of thunder broke the silence, followed by a loud crash. The three teens ran to the window, and gasped at what they saw. A power line was flickering and sparks flew from its fuse box. Several small explosions of sparks sent it tumbling over. It had been struck by lightning.

Aelita gasped.

"Aelita it's ok. It's happened before. Lighting strikes things a lot on earth." Comfort filled Odd's voice, but Aelita shoved it away. "I know that Odd. But Yumi's outside walking home!"

Ulrich gasped. "She could be hit!" Ulrich quickly grabbed his jacket and ran to the door. "I'm going to get Yumi. It's safer for her to stay here than risk being out in the open."

…

Yumi ran through the school yard, not caring if she got wet. A lighting strike had hit a power line just a moment ago that was only ten feet from her. Yumi tucked her red leather jacket tighter around her torso as she plunged through the downpour.

A flash lit up the ground in front of her. Yumi looked up just in time to see a brilliant streak of light demolish another power line. Yumi jumped away as the toasted power line plummeted to the ground. Wires snapped and split, and Yumi was aware that one of those wires was the service wire that provided the dorm building electricity. The wires sparked and hissed, and the toppled over power line caught on fire. The down pour quickly extinguished the flames but not soon enough for Yumi to miss the eye of Xana shone in the sparks.

…

Aelita gasped as the lights flickered above. The room went black. "Odd!" Aelita yelped. Odd grasped her hand and pulled her into a hug. "It's ok princess. The power just went out." He guided her by the moonlight from the window over to his bed where they sat down. "But what about Yumi? And Ulrich? What if they get hit? What if a tree falls down from the wind and they get squished?"

Odd laughed. "I think they can manage. You need to relax princess." Odd gave her another hug. As he drew back, Odd couldn't help but look at her lips. They were there, right in front of him, and the feeling of desire filled Odd's heart again. He wanted to kiss her so bad but he couldn't. Then a thought rose in Odd's mind. _Why can't I?_ He thought to himself. Aelita didn't like Jeremy, and Jeremy didn't own Aelita. After what happened in the cafeteria, Odd was pretty sure that Aelita liked him back. The way she reacted to Odd kissing her neck, and how she said "more", Odd guessed that she would probably like it if he kissed her on the lips. Odd lifted his eyes from her pink lips to her eyes. They were shimmering and as green as ever, two emeralds sparkling in the moon light.

"That look." Aelita whispered. Her eyes sparkled.

This through Odd off. "What?"

Aelita smiled. "That look that you're giving me right now, you gave it to me earlier when we were in the cafeteria, right before you… did… you know." Aelita blushed. Odd smiled. "What? You mean this?" Odd leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Aelita's neck. Aelita gasped and nodded. Odd tenderly nibbled at her neck, kissing every exposed spot on her bare skin. Aelita tilted her head back, allowing him easier access. He slid his tongue over her collar bone, and Aelita moaned in pleasure. Odd slowly kissed her neck, moving upwards. He moved his lips closer to hers. _I'm going to have my first kiss._ Aelita thought as Odd slid his lips over her chin, nearing her mouth. Suddenly, a roar of thunder shook the room. The two jumped in surprise.

"Really?" Odd yelled at the storm outside the window. "You couldn't have waited one more second?" He turned back to Aelita, who had turned very pale. "Odd, I just thought of something. What if this storm was caused by Xana?"

Odd thought about this for a moment. "Yeah, I guess it's possible. Let's go check your computer." Aelita nodded and the two of them stood up, and started walking in the dark towards Aelita's room. Both of them upset that they weren't able to share their first kiss yet.

Aelita and Odd entered her room. Jeremy had set up the super scan on Aelita's computer so that she could watch for any Xana activity. Sure enough, there was a red exclamation mark and red beeping on her computer.

"It is Xana!" Aelita cried. Odd took her hand in his. "Let's head to the factory. I'll call Ulrich."

…

Yumi jumped out of the way as another tree came crashing to the ground. Another blast. The lightning seemed to be following her as she ran. The rain pelted her face and the wind whipped her hair around. Yumi jumped over another fallen tree as she ran searching for anything, any kind of shelter at all that could protect her from the lightning strikes. The ground was so slick from the rain, and Yumi slipped. Her skull hit the ground and she lay sprawled on the pavement. Yumi tried to stand, but the fall had knocked the wind out of her. She lay lightheaded on the ground, helpless. _Bang. _Another flash of light hit a tree. The tree cracked and began to fall over, right above Yumi. She would be crushed. Yumi screamed as the tree fell, when suddenly, something knocked into her, knocking her out of the tree's path. Yumi and her savior rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the falling tree as it crashed to the earth. They rolled into the safety of a ditch. Yumi opened her eyes and lifted her head. She was on top of Ulrich.

"Why is it that we always find ourselves in this position?" Ulrich asked as he relaxed under Yumi's warm body. Yumi sighed in relief and laughed. She dropped her head back into Ulrich's chest, resting her throbbing skull. Despite the rain and threat of being shot by lightning, they remained like that for a moment, until Ulrich lightly lifted Yumi from him.

"Yumi, Odd just called me. It's Xana." Ulrich said as he set Yumi down next to him. She nodded. "I had my suspicions when the lightning started following me." She tried to stand, but wobbly fell back down.

"Yumi, are you going to be able to walk to the factory?" Ulrich asked, concern in his eyes. Yumi nodded. Ulrich smiled. "Ok. We need to take the underground passage. It's too dangerous to be above ground. Odd said that he and Aelita would wait for us in the sewers." Ulrich stood up and Yumi struggled to follow him. She got to her feet, but dizziness took hold of her and darkness engulfed her vision. She blacked out and fell. Ulrich was quick to react and he caught her. Ulrich chuckled and wrapped one arm around her waist and the other under her legs. He gently picked her up, surprised at how light she was. He carried her a few minutes before she regained consciousness.

Ulrich glanced down at his sleeping angel as she began to stir. Yumi's eyes fluttered open. Ulrich smiled down at her. She looked so beautiful. Ulrich couldn't resist. He lowered his head and lightly kissed her cheek. Yumi smiled and nestled her head against his chest, falling back into her unconscious state of slumber.

…

Odd and Aelita burst into the boiler room. Odd kicked the door shut just in the nick of time. A flash of lightning exploded behind them. A monstrous roar shook the earth.

Aelita shook her head, sending a spray of water scattering across the room. Odd smiled. "A little wet, huh?" Odd joked as he squeezed the water from his hair. Aelita laughed. "Yeah, just a little."

They let their eyes adjust to the light of the room. _The power is still on in this building. It must get electricity from another power line_. Odd smiled at Aelita, and brought a hand to her face. He gently wiped away a drop of water from her cheek, and caressed her precious face. Aelita leaned into his touch, sighing in comfort. She could have stayed like that forever, but they had a job to do.

As if hearing her thoughts, Odd dropped his hand from her face and smiled. "Come on, we've got a tower to deactivate." Odd quickly kissed her cheek, then grabbed her hand and pulled her to the secret door. They walked down the tunnel in silence. Aelita thought about all the little expressions of love they had done that day. She stopped, and turned to face Odd. Odd stopped and smiled at her.

"Odd, are you just doing this because of your goal to date every girl in the school?" Aelita asked seriously. Odd took her hands in his. "Aelita, honestly, after I met you I forgot all about that stupid goal." Odd said truthfully. "After I met you, you were really the only girl I cared for." Aelita smiled. She could see it in his eyes. Odd meant it, he wasn't lying. Odd wrapped his arms around her waist, and she draped her arms around his neck. She quivered in delight as Odd brushed his lips across hers, teasingly. Aelita leaned in and pressed her lips to his softly. The kiss was light but they could both feel the billions of fireworks erupting inside their hearts. Aelita moaned in pleasure as she felt Odd's tongue glide across her lips, and Aelita obediently opened her mouth. Their tongues first began to cautiously explore, but soon they began to engage in battle for control. Aelita moaned as Odd gently tugged on her lip with his teeth. She pressed her body closer to his and slid her hands up so she cradled the back of his head. She pressed his head harder into hers, and Odd deepened the kiss. He moaned and inched his hands down to her hips, pressing her against him. They finally separated, gasping for breath.

Odd looked into her emerald eyes, astonished. "Are you sure I'm your first kiss?" He asked.

Aelita laughed. "Was I any good?" She asked nervously. Odd nodded. "Amazing."

Aelita smiled in satisfactory. Odd however, didn't seem to notice. He was staring past her into the sewers. She turned to see what he was looking at and gasped.

The water level of the sewers had risen and overflowed. The concrete paths along the sides were now submerged. They couldn't get to the factory.

Just then the door at the top of the tunnel opened. Ulrich hobbled down the steps with Yumi in his arms. He carefully set her down when he reached Aelita and Odd.

"Why are you guys just standing there?" Said Ulrich between breaths. "We need to get to the… oh." Ulrich peered out into the sewers and saw that the paths were underwater.

Yumi had regained consciousness. She sat up to see what they were looking at."It's flooded!" Yumi cried.

"Great. What do we do now?" Ulrich said in frustration.

"I don't know."Odd mumbled as he sank down onto the steps thinking. Ulrich sat down next to him.

"It looks like Xana really got us good this time." Aelita murmured as she sat down beside Yumi.

Ulrich leaned forward to put his head in his hands, but made the mistake of moving his bangs, exposing his bloody forehead.

"Ulrich!" Cried Aelita. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I just scraped up my forehead when I pushed Yumi out of the way of a falling tree."Ulrich wiped at the blood. He winced at the deepening pain than stabbed through his head.

Yumi gasped at the deep gash in his head. "Ulrich you should have told me!" Yumi whispered. She crawled over to where Ulrich sat and gently dabbed his forehead with her sleeve until the blood was gone.

"Thanks." Ulrich said. He started to blush. Yumi had a tint of red creeping into her cheeks as well.

"If you two are done, we need to find a way to the factory before Xana hurts anyone else."Odd said as he rose from the steps. He hoisted Aelita up and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Just then a loud _Bang_ sounded above and the earth shook. The lights went out.

"The power!" Aelita cried.

"That last lightning strike must have hit another power line." Yumi said as she fumbled to stand.

"Hang on guys." Said Odd. Odd fumbled with his cell phone and a moment later a square of light lit up his face.

"Good idea."Aelita pulled out her cell phone and Yumi did too. The stairwell was lit with a dim glow.

"I dropped my cell phone outside but I can see well enough with yours." Ulrich said as he stood up.

"So now what?" Aelita asked curiously.

"We don't have a choice." Yumi said as she pushed past Aelita and Odd holding her cell phone in front of her. She carefully took a step into the water. Surprisingly, it was only mid-thigh deep, but the water was freezing.

"Come on guys, it's not that deep." Yumi shivered. Ulrich stepped into the water and waded over to Yumi. Next came Odd who shuddered as he entered the freezing water. Being shorter than Ulrich and Yumi, the water came up to his waste. He turned to help Aelita in, but she didn't make any attempt to get in to the water.

"Come on Princess, it's not THAT deep." Odd smiled at her and reached out his hand. After a moment she returned the smile and took his hand. But as she was about to step into the water another huge _Bang! _Hit the ground above them and shook the earth. Aelita lost her balance and fell into the icy water.

"Aelita!" The three yelled. Odd pulled her up. She was violently coughing.

"Are you ok Aelita?" Ulrich asked. Aelita continued to cough.

"Of course she's not! She's choking!" Yumi cried. Aelita shook her head. She coughed one final time before looking up at her friends.

"I'm fine." Aelita smiled. "Really. You guys should stop worrying about me."

"We can't Aelita. You keep getting yourself into trouble." Odd said. Aelita giggled. She noticed that Odd still had his arms around her.

Odd must have noticed to because he smiled and kissed her forehead.

Yumi nudged Ulrich underwater with her foot. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ulrich watched Yumi gesture to Aelita and Odd. Ulrich nodded and held back a laugh when Yumi wiggled her eye brows. It was almost as if Yumi was sending him a telepathic message saying _Aelita and Odd? Who would have guessed!_

"Come on you two, we have a tower to deactivate." Ulrich said as he held back another laugh. He and Yumi glanced at each other one last time before turning and heading down the submerged path.

"Oh no! My phone! I dropped it when I fell! " Aelita cried as she franticly splashed through the water searching for her phone.

Just then another _bang_ hit the ground above them, this time much louder.

The earth violently shook and some dust fell from the ceiling.

"Forget about it Aelita, you can share mine for now. The longer we take the more lives are at risk!" Odd said as he grabbed Aelita's arm and pulled her after Ulrich and Yumi. "Including ours!"

…..

The four moved slowly through the water. Yumi and Ulrich lead with Odd and Aelita behind them. As they trudged through the water, Odd couldn't help but glance at Aelita. Even in the dim cell phone light Aelita looked beautiful. He noticed that she was shaking.

"The waters really cold." Odd said. Aelita nodded her head in agreement. "You're shaking like crazy Aelita."

"It's not really the water. I'm just a little nervous." The pink haired girl said.

"We'll stop Xana, don't worry." Odd took her hand in his and the two intertwined their fingers together. Both blushed.

"I can't see the bottom." Aelita said suddenly.

"Hmmm, the water is just murky." Then a thought hit Odd. "Ulrich! Yumi! Stop before you…"

But it was too late. Yumi had disappeared from in front of them with a gigantic splash. She had walked right into the deep water where the path ended. Ulrich reached into the water that Yumi had disappeared under and pulled her up. He dragged Yumi into the shallower parts.

"God. A little sooner next time Odd." Sputtered Yumi. She leaned on Ulrich and coughed.

"Oh, so this is all my fault?" The purple clad teen cried.

"I'm joking jeesh!" Yumi shoved Odd smiling, and then looked at Ulrich. "Thanks." She said hugging Ulrich. "But I dropped my phone." Yumi realized. The only light came from Odds cell phone that he held between the four of them.

"Guys, the ladder is right over there!" Aelita pointed across the deep depths at the ladder that lead up to the bridge. "We just need to swim across." Another loud bang hit the earth above them but this time it was much louder. It sounded like a bomb had exploded above them. A small chunk of the ceiling fell. It splashed into the water and hit them with a spray of icy water as it dropped into the water not too far from them.

"That's it! I'm out of here!" Odd dropped Aelita's hand and lunged forward into the deep water. He disappeared into the dark depths but emerged a moment later."Come on guys!" He yelled as he tread water. Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita jumped in and followed him to the ladder.

The stabbing pain returned to Ulrich's forehead as he swam across. "Not now!" He mumbled angrily.

"What's wrong?" Yumi asked. They had reached the ladder and Odd and Aelita had begun climbing up but now they stopped and curiously looked down at their friends.

" It's my head. I just need a minute." Ulrich leaned against the ladder. "Go on, I'll catch up to you guys in a moment." Yumi shook her head. "I'll wait with you." She waded through the water to Ulrich's side and leaned against the wall. "Odd, get Aelita into the factory we'll catch up in a moment." Odd nodded and proceeded to climb up. "Oh and you guys." Odd and Aelita looked back down at Yumi and Ulrich. "You need to get off the bridge quickly. With all the lightning it's not safe to be out in the open."

Aelita and Odd nodded. A moment later they were making a mad dash across the bridge. The two swung down the ropes and got into the elevator. After a few seconds of descending, the elevator stopped. They entered the super computer room as the great medal doors opened. Aelita ran to the computer and began to type away. She brought up Odd's avatar on the screen.

"Odd get down to the scanners. I'll send you and then Ulrich, Yumi, and me when they get here." Aelita said as she started typing again. Odd nodded and quickly kissed her on the cheek. "See you in a minute, princess." Odd said as he walked into the elevator. Aelita smiled back at Odd and watched the doors close, blocking her view of Odd as he disappeared into the scanner room.

"Ok Odd." She said into the intercom. "I'm sending you to the desert sector. You can get into the scanner." Odd stepped into the scanner and watched the doors shut.

"Transfer Odd." Odd shut his eyes against the blowing air.

"Scanner Odd." Odd was lifted and began to rotate as he was scanned.

"Virtualization!" Aelita hit the enter key. Just then the elevator doors opened with Yumi and Ulrich inside.

"Hey. You didn't wait for us." Yumi crossed her arms over chest.

"There's no time to lose." Aelita said as she continued typing on the keyboard. "I've set a delayed virtualization. Odd we'll be there in a minute!" Aelita said through the head set.

"Sounds good!" Odd's voice rang out through the head set. Aelita smiled at the sound of his voice one last time before setting the headset down. She ran into the elevator and Yumi hit the down button.

"How's your head?" Aelita asked Ulrich as the elevator went down.

" I'll be fine once we get into the scanners." The medal doors opened to the scanner room. They all walked out and separated into individual scanners.

…

A moment later, Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita dropped down onto the sand.

"What the?" Ulrich cried. Four kankralats, five hornets and two tarantulas had been waiting for them. The monsters began firing.

"There!" Yumi yelled. She pointed toward a large rock that they could hide behind. The three took off running and dodging the lasers. Yumi and Ulrich got to the rock but a hornet blocked Aelita's path. She gasped as it charged up a blast.

"Aelita!" Yumi and Ulrich cried. But it was too late, the hornet shot at her.

All of a sudden two purple arms wrapped around Aelita and crossed in front of her. A purple disk appeared in front of them as Odd yelled "shield" and deflected the laser right back at the hornet. She watched as the hornet exploded.

"Odd!" She turned around in his arms and hugged him.

"We can't leave you alone for one minute huh?" He laughed and hugged her.

"Thank you." Aelita said. She drew back and locked eyes with Odd. Odd's arms were around her waist and Aelita's arms around his neck. But neither one of them pulled away. Odd was tempted to kiss her.

"Aelita, I…"Odd began. But the two were interrupted by the firing of lasers. Another set of arms yanked the two behind the rock. They were Ulrich's.

"You two can do that later." Yumi laughed. Odd and Aelita blushed.

"Right now we got a problem." Ulrich looked around the side of the rock at the monsters. He was greeted by a blast in the face by a kankralat. Ulrich fell back into the safety that the rock provided them.

"Ulrich!" Yumi cried as she knelt down next to him.

"Why are there so many monsters?" Aelita asked as she watched Ulrich rise back to his feet.

"Maybe Xana wants to throw us a party!" Odd exclaimed as he climbed up to the top of the rock to peer down at the monsters.

"If you ask me, Xana knows that Jeremy isn't here to help us out." Ulrich said. Xana was getting a lot smarter these days.

"Either way we need to get Aelita to that tower!" Yumi pointed at the red tower that stretched towards the digital sky. It wasn't too far away but the monsters were between them and it.

"Right. Odd, you take the tarantulas. Yumi, the hornets, and Aelita stay and hide until it's all clear."

Aelita nodded.

"What about you Ulrich?" Odd called down as he climbed further along the top of the rock. The monsters hadn't spotted him yet.

"I've got a score to settle with those kankralats." Ulrich pulled out his katana. "Super sprint!" Ulrich dashed around the side of the rock and drew the blade through the nearest kankralat. It exploded. The other monsters seemed a little surprised but started to fire at Ulrich.

"Yoohoo!" One of the tarantulas looked up. Odd jumped from the top of the rock and was hurtling down. He landed on its head. "Laser Arrow!" Odd jumped backwards as the tarantula exploded.

Yumi ran out from behind the rock. She tossed her two fans at the four hornets. One of the fans sliced through a hornet but the other three hornets just flew higher to avoid the other fan. They continued firing. Yumi caught her fans and blocked the lasers.

_They're too high up! _Yumi thought to herself. She watched Ulrich triplicate and was amazed to see each clone of Ulrich leap high into the air before bringing their katanas down through the heads of the remaining kankralats. Yumi had an idea.

She began running towards Odd. "Odd, give me a boost!"

Odd dodged a laser from the remaining tarantula. "Laser arrow!" It made contact and Odd turned to Yumi who was running at him and cupped his hands together. Yumi stepped into his palms and sprang high in the air. "Hai!" She spun and tossed her fan. It curved and sliced through the remaining two hornets. She caught the fans in the air and landed with a soft thud.

"All right Aelita, its all clear!"

Aelita nodded and dashed for the tower.

"Nice move Yumi." Ulrich said as he walked over to her.

"Yeah, you really took care of those four hornets!" Odd said as he brushed the dust from his hands.

A look of worry shot across Yumi's face. "But I only got three."

"Then where's the other one?" Ulrich's question was answered when the last hornet shot Yumi in the back, devirtualizing her.

"Yumi!" Ulrich yelled. Aelita, who was about to enter the tower, turned around at the sound of shots being fired.

"Aelita! Get in the tower!" Odd yelled as he fired at the hornet, each time missing. Aelita turned and ran into the tower. Odd let out a sigh of relief as she got to safety.

Angrily, Ulrich threw his katana at the hornet. It pierced the hornet, and Ulrich was satisfied as it exploded.

Yumi rubbed her back as she exited the scanners. She gasped when she realized what had happened to the scanner room. The room had flooded from the rain and there was water up to her ankles.

A moment later she was fumbling with the head set. "Aelita, the scanner room is flooded. How do I launch a return to the past?" Aelita guided Yumi through the process and the white bubble enveloped the world.


	7. Chapter 7: Sneak Peek Of Later Chapters

**Hey everybody! I have been busy, busy, busy working on my story line! Yep, I've already got later chapters prepared and the story line all figured out. I've even been working on the finale! But don't fret, their will most definitely be more seasons to Code Lyoko Destinies Realized! Yay! I've decided to break my rule of no hints for this chapter, because this chapter will be nothing but sneak peeks of what's coming! Do not get confused when you're reading this chapter. It's just a bunch of bits and pieces of later chapters so most of the time you will have no idea what's going on. If you do not want any spoilers I suggest that you skip this chapter. My story line will go back to normal in chapter eight starting off right where I left off in chapter six. For now, enjoy the sneak peek!**

** ~PSRose**

~~~ PSR ~~~

"What are you talking about?" Vanessa said to the two reporters. "Aelita isn't our cousin."

~~~ PSR ~~~

Yumi looked over at Candy. "Candy, how do you say 'shut up' in Spanish?"

"Shut up? That would be 'callar'…" A mischievous grin appeared on Candy's face. "…I mean 'te quiero'."

Yumi smiled and turned back to Ulrich. "Ulrich, te quiero!" She said naively. Ulrich laughed and pushed her. "No, Yumi te quiero!" Ulrich shouted back, a smile on his face. He was just as naïve as Yumi. Yumi shoved him and he shoved her back off the bench. Yumi stood laughing and chased him to the cafeteria. Candy leaned back and started laughing. Aelita and Odd looked at her suspiciously.

"I may not know a lot of Spanish," Odd began. "But if there's one word that I do know, it's callar, which DOES mean shut up."

Aelita cocked an eyebrow at Candy. "What did you really make them say?"

Candy laughed and stood up, beginning her walk back to her dorm. She simply replied. "I made them tell each other the truth."

~~~ PSR ~~~

Candy shook her head. "No, you don't understand."

Yumi let her arm drop from Candy's shoulder, a questioning gaze plastered across her face. Ulrich jumped in for her. "What do you mean?"

Candy sighed and tilted her head back. She looked up at the sky, watching the clouds role on by.

She finally spoke. "I have Lupus."

~~~ PSR ~~~

"No!" Yumi sprang at William, her hands reaching for the knife. She toppled over on top of him and the knife flew from his grasp. It clattered to the ground a few feet away. William pushed Yumi off of him and moved to retrieve the knife. Yumi grabbed his ankle and held on for dear life. William tried to shake her off, but she dug her nails into his flesh, refusing to let go. William cried out in pain and kicked her with his free foot, hard. Yumi rolled over and hit the wall with a soft thud. She lay face down. William grabbed the knife and a fistful of her hair and yanked up. Her eyes were closed and blood dribbled down from her nose. She was unconscious. William slammed her skull back into the cement. _Bang._ William yanked her head up again and pounded it into the cement once more. And again. And again. _Bang. Bang. Bang._

~~~ PSR ~~~

"Just look at me!" Vanessa screamed. She lifted her bangs to show her scar. "I was almost murdered by someone. Someone that I thought I _loved._ But that someone was not the one that I was supposed to love. Fate made the accident happen to make me realize that he was not the one. Fate made the whole thing happen to teach me a lesson about love. And you know what? I'm ok with that. The accident taught me a lesson, that love is not easy. Love is something that you have to work at, something that you need to commit to or else it won't work. And I'll keep working at it. I could be beaten and have my heart broken a thousand times but I won't give up! Because that's what love is. It's the force that keeps you going. I'm going to keep trying at love until I find the one person that I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with." Vanessa smiled. "Maybe its Colin, and maybe it's not. I don't know right now but one day I will. But Yumi, you know right now, if Ulrich is the one."

~~~ PSR ~~~

"I love you." She whispered, before leaning in and kissing him.

**Nope. No more hints. I refuse to tell you who said I love you or who that person was saying it to. It could have been Aelita saying it to Odd, Yumi saying it to Ulrich, or hey, for all you know it could be a polar bear saying it to a potato chip! Who knows what could be going on in my twisted mind? I will warn you that the last three sneak peeks will happen in much later chapters. Please review and comment on my sneak peeks. I would love to hear what you have to say!**

** ~PSRose**


	8. Chapter 8: Reunion

**I apologize for the long wait. I've had to deal with family issues, friends and school so I got a bit distracted. Now that it's summer I might be able to keep up with fanfiction! **

_The summer had dragged on long and cruel. Ulrich spent time playing soccer in his back yard when his father wasn't lecturing him about his expectations for ninth grade. Jeremy almost never left his room and remained glued to his computer screen. Yumi and Aelita spent their time shopping and hanging out at the beach. Odd's family's summer plans were forgotten when a terrible accident struck the family… an accident that one spiky blond teen would never forget._

"I'm so excited!" Aelita said as she bounced on the bench next to Yumi. "Are you excited? Because I'm so excited!"

"Yes Aelita, I'm excited to see them too!" Yumi laughed and gripped her friend's shoulders so Aelita would stop shaking. "Jeez! It's only been one summer! You're acting like you haven't seen them in ten years!"

"Sorry Yumi! I just can't wait to see them!"

"Neither can I, but you're going to knock over the bench if you keep bouncing like that! Just be patient." Yumi crossed her legs and leaned back into the bench. Her gaze returned to the road and that's when her eyes fell upon a familiar brunette heading towards them.

"Ulrich!" Yumi jumped up and ran towards him.

"Yumi!" Ulrich let the suitcases he was carrying drop to the ground as he caught Yumi in a tight hug. "I see that you've missed me!"

"And I see that you've grown!" Yumi drew back from the hug to examine Ulrich. He was wearing black sneakers and blue jeans, and a black t-shirt with a green army jacket. He had shot up like a weed, and was now taller than Yumi.

Ulrich too, examined Yumi. Her usual black turtle neck was swapped for a loose fitting black t-shirt with white roses graffitied on the front. The left shoulder of the shirt sagged off one shoulder and she wore a grey tang-top underneath. She had white denim short shorts on and to complete the look, black converse.

"Wow, you look…" Ulrich started. Yumi cocked an eyebrow.

"…like a girl." Yumi punched Ulrich in the side of the arm and started laughing. Ulrich rubbed his arm and blushed. He didn't really mean to say that out loud.

"And you look like a guy!" Yumi started laughing again. Ulrich couldn't help but smile. Over the summer he had missed seeing Yumi laugh. His smile grew wider as Aelita walked towards them.

"Wow! You got tall!" Exclaimed Aelita as she looked up at her friend who now towered above her.

"It's good to see you too Aelita." Said Ulrich as he squished Aelita in a bear hug.

"And strong! Ulrich you're crushing me!" Ulrich let go of Aelita and the three of them started laughing.

"Are Odd and Einstein here yet?" Ulrich asked as he picked up one of his bags.

Yumi took it from him. "You've been traveling all day, let me help you." Ulrich reached for the other bag but Aelita got to it first. "Fine!" Ulrich threw his hands up in defeat but he was secretly grateful for the help. "So are they here yet?"

"No. Jeremy won't be here until tomorrow." Yumi said as she lugged the suitcase towards the bench.

"And Odd should be here any minute." Aelita said. She smiled at the thought of it before plopping down on the bench.

Yumi and Ulrich glanced at each other. Ulrich cocked his eyebrow at Yumi and she smiled and nodded. Aelita still liked Odd. And judging by the text messages Ulrich received from Odd over the summer, Odd still liked Aelita too. Yumi and Ulrich sat down on the bench next to Aelita.

Ulrich took the time to study Aelita. She was wearing hot pink sandals and a pair of denim short shorts that looked similar to Yumi's except they were dark blue instead of white. She was wearing a lacey pink floral tank top and he couldn't help but notice that she had grown. Not growing as in taller or fatter, but well, _grew. _What was really different though was her hair.

"So Aelita," Ulrich said. "What's up with your hair?"

Aelita smiled and brushed a lock of hair back to its place behind her ear. It had grown very quickly over the summer and almost reached her shoulders. The sunlight had tinted it so now instead of dark pink, it had softened to a cherry blossom pink.

"It grew." She said simply. "And got lighter." She shrugged. Ulrich accepted this answer and moved on to Yumi.

"And you," He said pointing an accusing finger at her playfully. "White shorts? White roses?" He gestured to her shorts and shirt. "Who are you and what have you done with goth Yumi?"

Yumi giggled. "She got into the summer spirit." Yumi said happily. But she quickly frowned. "Why? You don't like it?"

"Of course I do! It makes you look," Ulrich began, but Aelita quickly cut him off.

"Like a girl?" Aelita joked. The two girls laughed and Ulrich blushed.

"Hey look!" Ulrich said quickly. Mrs. Della Robia's yellow Esantra pulled up to the curb.

"Odd!" Shouted Aelita as she jumped up from the bench. Odd stepped out of the yellow car and waved at his friends. Aelita began to run towards him, but she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Odd had turned back to the car and reached inside. A moment later Odd pulled out the hand of another girl. He helped her out of the car and the two of then went around to the back to open the trunk of the bright yellow car.

"Who's that?" Yumi whispered to Ulrich and Aelita.

"I have no idea." Ulrich watched the girl laugh at something Odd had said.

"I have a pretty good idea." Aelita said in a huff. She turned on her heel and walked away from the scene. It was obvious that the girl was Odd's girlfriend.

Yumi considered going after Aelita, but decided to let her vent. Yumi and Ulrich stood up and walked towards Odd.

"Hey Yumi!" Odd hugged Yumi when with a smile.

"Hey Odd!" Yumi said as she hugged him. Like Ulrich, Odd had grown much taller. But unlike Ulrich, Odd still was shorter than Yumi.

She drew back from their hug. Odd still had his hair in a spike, but he changed his clothes. He now wore a short sleeved purple sweatshirt over a long sleeved dark purple shirt. He wore loose blue jeans and red sneakers.

"What's up Odd?" Said Ulrich.

"Nothing but the sky good buddy!" Ulrich rolled his eyes. "What? Are you too cool to hug me Ulrich?" Said Odd. Ulrich smiled and hugged his friend. Then Odd turned to the girl who had been unloading bags from the trunk.

"Guys, this is my older sister Vanessa. She'll be going to Kadiac this year." Vanessa turned towards them. She had on magenta capris and a black tang top. She wore black high tops and was about Odds height. She had black shoulder length hair and strangely, her bangs were slashed and purple-ish.

"And Vanessa, this is Ulrich, Yumi, and" Odd stopped. He could have sworn he saw Aelita with them.

"Hey!" Vanessa flashed them a grin exposing her brilliant white teeth.

"Vanessa's in your grade Yumi." Odd said as he picked up another suitcase.

"Cool. Now I don't have to suffer through Italian by myself." Yumi said. The four of them laughed.

"Is that natural?" Ulrich asked as he pointed at her purple bangs.

Vanessa nodded. "Yep."

"Just like Odd's." Yumi smiled at Odd's purple hair.

"Yeah it actually runs in the family." Vanessa said as she blew her bangs out of her eyes.

"But blond hair doesn't?" Yumi asked as she gestured towards Vanessa's black hair. Vanessa grew pale and glanced at Odd. He started laughing.

"Odd I swear! If you tell them…!" Vanessa grabbed Odd's shirt collar and actually _lifted_ him off the ground. Yumi and Ulrich just stared wide eyed at Vanessa's strength. She was very strong for her size. Odd only laughed harder.

"Fine I won't tell them!" Said Odd as Vanessa dropped him back on his feet.

"Good." Vanessa turned to close the trunk. Just then, Odd quickly grabbed Vanessa's head and shoved it down so that his friends could see the top of her scalp.

"Look guys! Look! Blonde roots!" Odd said as he struggled to keep Vanessa's head down. There was indeed a tiny lightning bolt of gold where new hair was growing. Vanessa twisted out of Odd's grip. "Odd!"

Vanessa wasn't lying when she said that the purple hair ran in the family because just then, Mrs. Della Robbia leaned out of her car window. Her blonde hair was curly and cascaded down her back. Two purple streaks ran through her hair.

"Guys come on! I gotta go. Come say good bye!" Mrs. Della Robbia shouted at her two squabbling children.

"Bye mom!"Vanessa said as she hugged her mom through the window. "Bye mom." Odd said as he quickly hugged his mom too.

"And V, try not to kill your brother." Mrs. Della Robia pleaded.

"No promises." Vanessa said as she glared at her little brother.

The four watched as Mrs. Della Robia's yellow Esantra drove away.

Ulrich turned to Yumi. "Why don't you show Vanessa around? I have to talk to Odd."

Yumi glanced at Odd, and then returned her gaze to Ulrich. "Sounds good. We'll check in with the principle to see where her room is." She turned to Vanessa. "Is that cool with you?"

Vanessa nodded. "The sooner I can ditch these bags the better." Yumi smiled and grabbed one of Vanessa's bags. The girls waved and headed towards Mr. Delma's office.

As soon as they were out of ear shot Odd turned to Ulrich.

"Where's Aelita?" Odd asked eagerly.

"Somewhere crying her eyes out! But that's not the point! How are we supposed to explain to Vanessa that Aelita is supposed to be your cousin who really grew up inside a computer being threatened by an evil AI who wants to kill us all, and on top of that you're secretly dateing!"

"I am not dating Xana!" Odd said with a smirk.

"I'm talking about Aelita, your girlfriend who thinks you're cheating on her!"

Odd's smile fell. "Why does she think I'm cheating on her?"

Ulrich sighed. "She thinks Vanessa is your girlfriend. But that's not the point! What are we supposed to do about the secret?"

Odd threw his hands up in frustration. "Look. Vanessa switching school was last minute. Something happened. Something bad. Mom thought that Vanessa might be able to cope better here, where she has her brother around. We'll figure out how to deal with the secret later. Right now I have to find Aelita."

Odd turned and ran to look for Aelita, leaving Ulrich to think about what _something bad _meant.


	9. Chapter 9: Desire

Odd ran around the campus searching for Aelita. He couldn't find her anywhere so he headed for the hermitage.

…

Back at the dorm building, Vanessa and Yumi were giggling as they strolled through the halls looking for room 123, Vanessa's dorm.

"And then Molly locked Odd in the bathroom!" The girls giggled.

"Odd had mentioned that once, but I never thought…" Yumi came to a halt.

Vanessa also stopped. "What's wrong?"

Yumi leaned toward Vanessa. "See that guy up ahead?"

Vanessa nonchalantly flipped her hair and glanced down the hallway. A boy with shaggy black hair was watching them. She turned back to Yumi.

"Yeah."

"That's William. He's bad news; oh man he's coming towards us."

Vanessa turned to face William. He was eyeing Yumi in a way that would make any girl uncomfortable, but Yumi hid it well.

"Hi Yumi, did you miss me?" William smirked.

Yumi scowled. "I missed the black eye I had back in May more than I missed you."

William laughed and stepped closer to Yumi. He was going to grab her.

"Come on Yumi, don't I get a hello kiss?"

Vanessa stepped between them. "Back off Casanova."

William eyed Vanessa the same way he had eyed Yumi. He wanted to scare her. She didn't even flinch.

"Yumi, how about introducing me to the hottie?"

Vanessa scowled. "The hottie can introduce herself."

William was thrown off by this. He quickly tried to cover. "I'm waiting, bitch."

Vanessa stepped forward, her nose inches from his. "I'm Vanessa, the bitch you don't want to mess with."

William's mouth dropped open, and he stepped back. He wasn't going to mess with her.

With one last glare at Vanessa he said "later Yumi." And walked away.

Yumi smiled. "Impressive. I've never seen William that scared."

Vanessa continued to look for her room and shrugged. "He looked like he was threatening you. Just went in to self defense mode."

A ringing escaped Yumi's pocket.

"Hey Ulrich. Yeah that sounds good. Ok we'll meet you there." She hung up. "Ulrich wants us all to meet at the cafeteria. Dinner's in ten minutes."

Vanessa nodded. "You go on ahead. I Found my room."

"Alright. See you later." Yumi waved and headed for the cafeteria.

Vanessa turned and opened the door to her dorm.

The walls were a pretty lilac color. Two beds sat on opposite sides of the room along with two closets and two desks. Another girl sat on the left side of the room unpacking a suitcase. It must have been her roommate.

The girl turned and smiled at Vanessa. She had long curly red hair and emerald eyes. Her skin was tan which was unusual for a red head, and she wore a light green tang top with darker green shorts and flip flops. Vanessa had to admit that the girl was very beautiful.

"Hola. I'm Caramela, but you can call me Candy."

Candy spoke with a Spanish accent. Her R's rolled off her tongue like dew from a waxy flower petal.

"Hey I'm Vanessa." Vanessa smiled and dropped her bags on the remaining bed.

"I hope you don't mind, I took the window side." Candy gestured to the large windows on the left wall. Silky white curtains fluttered in the summer breeze.

"It's fine, as long as you don't mind the posters I hang up." Vanessa tacked a dance poster up on the blank wall.

Candy smiled. "Not at all. I love dance."

"Really? Do you take lessons?" Vanessa plopped down on the bed.

Candy nodded. "Since I was five."

"Since I was seven." Vanessa smiled and arched her eyebrows.

Candy giggled. "What's your favorite kind? Mine's Hip hop with a little salsa."

Vanessa's smile grew. She had a feeling that she was going to like this girl.

…

Odd opened the front door to the hermitage and stepped inside. He climbed up the stairs and walked down the hallway to Aelita's room. A figure stood looking out the window with its back to Odd.

"Aelita?"

Aelita turned. Her soft pink hair gently blew and settled as her tanned body turned around. One long leg crossed in front of the other as she leaned back against the window sill. Her emerald eyes twinkled in the dimly lit room.

Odd gulped. She took his breath away. She had gotten even more beautiful over the summer.

"Aelita…"

"Where's your girlfriend?"

"Standing in front of me." Odd smirked.

"I'm talking about the one with the black hair."

Odd took a step towards her. "I prefer girls with pink hair."

It took all of Aelita's strength not to run to him and press her lips to his. "Stop playing Odd."

Odd's smile fell. "Aelita, I would never cheat on you. That girl is Vanessa, my sister."

Aelita stood straight up. "Really?"

"Yes, I…"

Odd didn't get a chance to finish. Aelita jumped at him. She pressed her lips to his and wrapped her arms around his neck. Odd groaned and let his hands fall to her hips and he pulled her closer to him.

"I missed you so much." Aelita murmured before pressing her mouth back against his.

"Mhmm." Was all Odd could say, he was too busy kissing his princess. He slipped his tongue into the familiarity of her mouth earning a moan from Aelita. Their tongues danced as Aelita pressed herself harder against Odd. He moaned and caught her lower lip between his teeth, gently tugging. Aelita gasped and weaved her fingers through Odd's hair.

A ringing interrupted them.

Odd cursed and pulled his phone from his pocket. "What Ulrich?"

"Did you find Aelita yet?"

"Yes!" He yelled into the phone.

"Good. Dinners in a few minutes. We're all meeting in the cafeteria."

"Sounds great, we'll see you then." Odd growled into the phone. He hung up and continued to kiss Aelita.

Dinner can wait a few more minutes.


	10. Chapter 10: Remember Me

**Hehehehehehehehe I'mmmmm back! Oh yeah, I don't want to get sued for everything I have, so: I don't own code Lyoko or any of its characters. I do own Vanessa and Candy and my other OC's. Oh yeah, and happy CHAPTER 10 EVERYONE!**

Odd and Aelita entered the cafeteria and walked over to their usual table. Ulrich, Yumi, Vanessa and a red head were laughing about something.

Odd pulled out a chair for Aelita. She smiled and sat down. He plopped down in the seat beside her.

"Aelita, this is Vanessa, my older sister."

Aelita smiled at Vanessa. "It's nice to meet you."

"Aelita? _The _Aelita whom I've heard so much about?" Vanessa smirked at her brother.

Aelita turned and smiled at Odd who was madly blushing. Lucky for him Yumi cut in.

"And this is Candy. Vanessa's roommate who I just met and already want to be best friends with."

They laughed.

"Yeah, I kind of have that effect on people." Candy blushed and flipped her hair. The few boys that were in the cafeteria were gawking at her. Not many kids had arrived yet; they were all coming tomorrow, the Sunday before school started.

"What are you?" Odd asked.

Candy looked at him with a puzzled expression.

He quickly blushed. "I mean, what's your ethnic origin? Red heads with tan skin aren't exactly common."

Candy smiled. "My Mama is Irish and my Papa is Hispanic, but mostly German. After my mother got a job as a Salsa dance instructor we moved to Spain…"

"…and you picked up the Spanish accent." Ulrich finished for her. Candy nodded and let her eyes stay on Ulrich for a moment too long.

Yumi turned to Vanessa. "Do you fight at all? Like martial arts?"

The other three Lyoko warriors gazed warningly at Yumi. She wasn't recruiting Vanessa to fight Xana, was she?

Vanessa shrugged. "I know a little bit of everything. It's mostly just for self defense."

Yumi leaned forward, suddenly interested. "Really? How long have you been training?"

"Not very long. I started after my boyfr," Vanessa stopped. Odd turned white and carefully watched his sister. She hid her emotions very well but Odd could sense her discomfort.

"Not very long." Vanessa repeated quietly.

Yumi shrugged, realizing she had hit a nerve. "Well we could train together sometime. Ulrich and I do Pencak Silat."

"Ok, cool." Vanessa smiled.

Ulrich eyed Aelita and Odd. "Have you two seen the new dorm rooms? Now that were in high school we get bigger rooms. Odd, I already put your stuff in our room."

"Thanks Ulrich."

"I still have to bring my stuff up from Yumi's house." Aelita said.

The six continued to chat. Yumi and Candy talked about gymnastics, Ulrich and Vanessa talked about soccer. Aelita and Odd sat happily holding hands under the shelter of the table. Once again, Ulrich caught Candy staring at him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked Candy.

Candy knit her eyebrows together. "I'm sorry it's just, you look so familiar. Have we ever met before today?"

Ulrich considered this. "I don't know, but you seem vaguely familiar too. Have you ever done any soccer camps? Martial Arts?"

Candy shook her head. "No. Have you ever done environmental or animal fundraising?"

Ulrich shook his head. "Geesh, I swear I've seen you before… I just can't…"

Ulrich's face lit up with recognition. He quickly blushed and shoved it away. "Nope not a clue."

Realization hit Candy. "Oh! I Remember now!"

"No you don't." Ulrich shook his head, silently pleading Candy not to talk.

"Yeah I'm sure of it." Candy didn't get the hint.

"Hey have you guys tried the bread sticks?" Ulrich tried to distract his friends, but they were too interested in how Candy and Ulrich knew each other.

"You were in one of my mother's Salsa classes!" Candy said excitedly.

The gang burst out laughing. They were picturing Ulrich in a frilly purple top and maracas.

"You did Salsa Ulrich?" Odd laughed.

Ulrich blushed. "It was over two years ago. My mom made me do it. I quit as soon as I could." He lied.

"It's a shame." Candy said disappointed. "You were the best in her class. Next to me of course." Candy smiled and the gang started laughing.

The competitive side took over Ulrich. "Are you kidding? I could check forward better than you any day!"

"How bout _to_day?" Candy leaned back in her chair and put her arms behind her head, smirking.

Ulrich stiffened. He had always had a deep love for Salsa and was very good. He had quit because he was often made fun of even though many guys did salsa.

"Sorry, but I uh, hurt my leg playing soccer yesterday."

Candy rolled her eyes but smiled. "Whatever you say orgulloso."

**Yeah. Candy will be saying a lot of things in Spanish. You can go look them up if you're that interested. It will probably make more sense if you do. **


	11. Chapter 11: The Dorms

**SEASON 5 IS COMING OUT IN 2012? Thanks for the heads up YugiohObsessed! Since I didn't know that, you know that I don't own code Lyoko or any of its characters. Here's chapter 11… but before you read it… I'd like to announce that I MIGHT be holding a little challenge for all code Lyoko fanfic writers… I'll tell you more next chapter.**

Aelita gasped as she opened the door to her new room. Room 125. Because she didn't have a roommate, she had more space than Candy and Vanessa. A larger closet stood against one of the pale pink walls, and next to that sat a small maroon couch. A large desk rested against the window wall where silky white curtains fluttered in the summer breeze. To top it all off, a full sized bed beckoned her to come take a nap.

"Wow, this place is like a hotel room!" Odd said as he marched into the room. He dropped the pink suitcase he was carrying on the couch before flopping down on the bed.

Aelita dropped the rest of her luggage near the closet before flopping down on the bed next to Odd.

"Yeah, it's so much bigger than my old dorm." Aelita said as she fingered a loose thread on the mattress. She didn't know that she'd have a bigger bed. She and Yumi would have to go shopping for larger sheets that night.

"I wonder if Ulrich and my room is this big." Odd pondered as he looked around the room.

"Let's go find out." Aelita grabbed Odd's hand and tugged him out the room to the boy's hallway.

Room 238. Odd opened the door and was pleased with what he saw. Yumi and Ulrich were already busy decorating. A silver brass bunk bed sat at one end of the room, and two desks sat on either side of it. A dark blue and brown checked rug spread out on the floor. Two blue closets were against the pale green wall where the door was, one already filled with Ulrich's clothes. Across from them they could see the entire campus through the large windows that were embellished with chocolate colored curtains. Above the windows a basket ball hoop had been hung up by Ulrich, and he was lazily making shots from his orange desk chair. Two orange bean bags and a grey couch with green, blue and brown pillows was facing the remaining wall, which had a 60 inch flat screen hung up.

"Aw man. Dad bought us a little flat screen." Odd pouted as he and Aelita plopped down on the couch. Odd's family was very wealthy and often donated money to the school. The school gave Odd a bigger room with better appliances and furniture to show their thanks. This year, Odd's father had bought him and Ulrich a tv for their larger room, and had got it set up over the summer.

Yumi sent him a puzzled look from her spot resting on the bean bag. "Little? That thing is enormous!"

Odd shrugged. "The flat screens in my room at home are bigger."

Aelita gaped at him. "Flat screen_**s**_? Plural?"

"Yeah. So?"

"_So ,_I'm coming to your house winter break, cousin!" Aelita laughed and rested her head on Odd's shoulder.

"Speaking of cousins," Ulrich said as he plopped down next to Yumi in the other bean bag. "How do you plan on explaining that to Vanessa?"

Odd pondered this for a moment. "I've thought about that a lot. I think we go ahead with the plan to keep Aelita and my relationship a secret, even from V, and go ahead and continue the cousin thing."

Yumi brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. It had grown so much longer over the summer. She would have to get it cut. "What if people start asking Vanessa about Aelita?"

"Yeah. You haven't given everyone a lot of information about Aelita's _past in Canada. _Everyone is bound to ask Vanessa questions." Ulrich stated.

Odd looked uncomfortable. He was deciding whether or not to tell them. He quietly stood and shut the door before returning to Aelita's side.

"Ok, look." He said in a hushed tone. "Vanessa is, kind of, dealing with something right now. She isn't here to make friends, she's here to, get over something that happened to her. It may not look like it, but she's trying to avoid everyone. I don't think you have to worry about her blabbing to anyone."

The three teens watched their usually arrogant friend act in such a depressing manor.

"What happened?" Aelita whispered.

Visions or blood and broken glass filled Odd's eyes. The sickening _bang bang _rose from the depths of his mind. He quickly shoved the thoughts away.

"It doesn't matter now. Let V tell you. The point is Vanessa won't be a threat to our secret."

They were silent.

Aelita finally spoke. "It's getting late, and I need to buy some sheets before the shops close. Yumi, do you want to come?"

Yumi smiled. "Of course. Ulrich, Odd, why don't you guys finish unpacking."

"Sure. I want to test out this _little _flat screen." Ulrich smirked at Odd who rolled his eyes.

The girls waved goodbye and headed out the door.

"Hey Ulrich, did you claim a bunk yet?" Odd asked eyeing the bunk bed.

"No, but I kind of wanted the t," Ulrich began, but Odd quickly cut him off and jumped up to the top bunk.

"Dibs on the top bunk!" Odd screamed. Ulrich rolled his eyes and through Odd's pillow at the purple clad teen.

…

"Hey, let's check on Candy and Vanessa before we head out." Yumi said as they approached room 123.

The girls walked through the open door into Candy and Vanessa's room. Vanessa was still loading her clothes into her closet. Candy was lying on her bed, having finished unpacking a long time ago. Across from the door, two Purple closets and a white couch with purple, maroon, and green pillows faced them. On the left, large windows and silky white curtains covered the wall that Candy's bed was against. Green sheets adorned her bed along with several green throw pillows and a white Bengal tiger stuffed animal. Her white desk had several potted plants on it, absorbing the sun's rays.

On Candy's side, posters of dancers and musicians dotted the lilac wall. Candy's bed had maroon sheets and softer maroon and black pillows. Her white desk had an ipod speaker on it and some other apple electronics. A white shelf held several books neatly lined up.

"Hey!" Vanessa said as she hung up a black skirt.

"Hola!" Candy sat up from her bed.

"Wow. This place looks great!" Aelita leaned against the door frame and surveyed the room.

"Yeah, I've got to reconsider being a day student." Yumi joked.

Candy smiled and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Yeah. This place is almost better than my home back in España."

"We're heading out to the shops. Do you guys want anything?" Aelita asked the two girls.

Candy shook her head. "Nope."

"I'm good."

Yumi smiled. "Ok. See you later."

They waved good bye and left.


	12. Chapter 12: Return

**I love this song. It's called **_**Perform this way **_**by Weird Al, (A parody of born this way by lady gaga) and it's super hilarious. I don't own Code Lyoko or any of its characters.**

"My mama told me when I was hatched,

Act like a super star.

Save your allowance buy a bubble dress,

And someday you will go far!"

Aelita rolled over in sleep and punched her alarm clock. She lay sleepy for a moment before sitting up and examining her room. The white curtains were drawn over the windows for privacy, but a blinding ray of sunshine still managed to slip through the small gap between the curtains. The maroon couch was decked out in lime green and pale pink pillows, and looked similar to the maroon closet that had lime green flowers speckled on it.

Aelita pushed aside the pink sheets and made her way over to the closet. She glanced at the pale pink walls that were decked out in posters of the sub digitals, a painting that Odd had helped her make, and a photo of her and the gang. Her eyes fell on the photo. Odd, Yumi, Jeremy, Ulrich and her smiled goofily back. She would have to add in Candy and Vanessa…

…

"_Stop it!" She screamed and kicked him in the shin._

_He growled and grabbed her by her long curls of soft golden hair. With a forceful tug he yanked her off the couch. She let out a shrill scream and threw her fist at his chest._

"_You bitch!" He yelled and adjusted his grip on her hair so that he was gripping the tresses and her scalp. He swung her and smashed her head into the glass coffee table, like she was nothing more than a rag doll. Again he smashed her face into the glass. Bang. Bang. Bang. _

_The table shattered and sparkly shards of glass went everywhere. Crimson dripped from her face onto the white carpet staining it red. _

_Red._

_Red._

_Red._

"Now on red carpets, well, I'm hard to miss

The press follows everywhere I go.

I'll poke your eye out with a dress like this

Back off and enjoy the show!"

Candy sat up and stretched. She leaned over and hit the off button on her alarm clock. She giggled.

"I'll never understand American's taste in music." Candy glanced over at Vanessa.

Vanessa was sitting up and had her arms wrapped around her body. She was trembling.

"Something wrong chica?" Candy asked as she walked over to her closet. She wore an oversized lime green night shirt.

"No. Just nightmares." Vanessa whispered as she stood and walked over to her closet. She wore a black long sleeved night gown.

Candy shrugged and continued to dress into her normal green tang top and dark green shorts. "Just remember, nightmares aren't real."

"I wish." Candy mumbled under her breath. She self consciously fixed the purple bangs that lay on her forehead.

…

"Hey Odd, hey Ulrich." Yumi said happily as she munched on another piece of bacon.

Odd and Ulrich sat across from Yumi, Aelita, and Vanessa, and on either side of Candy, earning jealous looks from the other guys in the cafeteria.

As the other four talked, Odd glanced at Vanessa who was sitting across from him. She had her elbow propped on the table and her head resting in hand.

"Something wrong?" Odd whispered so the other four wouldn't hear.

She gently nodded.

"Thinking about… _him_?"

Vanessa nodded again. "Nightmares."

Odd scowled as images of _him_ filled Odd's mind. A sweet voice broke him out of his trance.

"Odd?" Aelita's hand rested on his shoulder and a look of concern glazed her eyes.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I need to talk to you." She gestured to the door. She wanted to speak in privacy.

"Ok." Odd glanced at his sister and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Just hang in there. He's gone, remember?"

Vanessa nodded.

Aelita smiled at Vanessa before gently taking Odd's hand and guiding him outside.

She gently tugged him behind the building. They sat down on the gravel.

"How's your sister?" Aelita asked.

"She's… hanging in there." Odd sighed and put his head in his hands.

"I don't know what happened, but I feel terrible. Is there any way I can help?" Aelita asked as she took Odd's hands in hers.

Odd shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Is this all you wanted to talk about?"

Aelita bit her lip. She shook her head. "Jeremie's coming today."

Odd's breath hitched. He silently cursed.

Aelita put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry. You're dealing with so much right now. I just added to the stress. You know, maybe we should just call our relationship quits."

Odd's head shot up. "Aelita, what are you talking about?"

"Odd, I don't want to add stress to your life. I want to be as helpful to you as I possibly can, and if that means not being your girlfriend…"

Aelita was cut off by Odd's warm embrace.

He was hugging her.

A moment later, he pulled away from her.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't want to break up with you. You being my girlfriend has actually made my life less stressful."

Aelita smiled and hugged him. Odd pulled something from his pocket and stood. He walked around behind her and gently draped something around her neck.

Aelita reached up and touched the necklace. It was cool against her radiant skin. She looked down to see it. The necklace had a beautiful gem dangling from it. Beautiful Purples and Pinks danced from the jewel and glistened in the morning sun. If you looked close enough, you could see O+A engraved in its shiny surface.

"Odd I love it." Aelita whispered.

"I hoped you would say that." Odd said with a warm smile.

Aelita turned around in his arms and gently kissed him.

…

As the kids began to flood into the campus, the gang knew that this year was not going to be like the others.

At first glance, things would appear normal.

The new seventh graders were nervously maundering around the campus, and new girls were giving flirty glances to Odd. Jim was surveying the dorms and going over the rules with the new boarders, and Sissi was flaunting her ultra large ego. Of course the cheerleaders had already found each other, and were eagerly going over the summer's gossip.

But if you took a closer look, you would see that things were anything but normal.

The new seventh graders were eagerly absorbing every detail of the campus. They had heard rumors of strange things happening around this school. Student disappearances, teachers acting in a paranormal way, and a strangeness about a certain group of kids…

Pretty girls approached the blond hottie, but strangely, the Casanova payed them no attention. He seemed completely absorbed in his pink haired cousin.

Although it appeared Jim was ensuring the rules and checking up on the students in their dorms, he was really checking out the work he had done on each room. He had personally designed each room and picked out the furniture, after all, he was once a interior designer. When asked about it though, he preferred not to talk about it.

Sissi was bragging to everyone, especially the boys. What was strange about it though is the fact that she seemed to have their attention. The pink dress she wore showed off the few curves that she actually had, and her black hair had grown fairly long and stretched down her back in two long braids tied with yellow ribbons. The boys were completely absorbed in Sissi, until they saw Candy.

The cheerleaders were acting like they always do, but their new looks begged to differ. Some of the fake blonds had died their long waves black and cut their hair. Most of them wore black and white, and wore barely any makeup –shooting for the natural look. Their usual tan bodies were now pale, showing evidence that they must have had to work really hard to avoid the tanning booths and beach. The gang realized that they were copying Yumi's look.

Noticing the gang staring at them, one of the cheerleaders, Cindy, smiled and waved to Yumi. Cindy then nudged Kylie. (Remember Kylie? Captain of the cheerleaders?) Kylie had always been the most down to earth of the cheerleaders. She always stayed true to her style and was now wearing a yellow sun dress. Her hair was still the natural blond that it always was. But Kylie was wearing a pair of black flip flops and a black head band. Kylie smiled at Yumi and began to walk towards her.

"Hi Yumi. How was your summer?" Kylie smiled at a stunned Yumi.

Odd cut right in. "What up with all the Yumi clones?"

Kylie glanced at her squad. She rolled her eyes. "After Yumi's tumbling routine at the boy's last game, the girls heard that I'd be adding black to my wardrobe and they were _inspired _by Yumi's attire too."

Kylie returned her icy blue eyes to Yumi. "Speaking of your little tumbling routine, the girls and I were wondering if you'd try out for the sophomore cheerleading team."

Yumi gaped at Kylie. She wasn't sure if Kylie was joking, or crazy. "Really?"

Kylie nodded. "You're an excellent tumbler. And you're small and skinny enough to be a flyer. So, will you do it?"

Yumi considered this. It would give her more time to practice her gymnastics, and practices would allow her to stay out longer in the evening. Plus, she would have more time with Ulrich since she'd be cheering for him on the sidelines.

"I'll think about it." Yumi finally said.

Kylie smiled and nodded. She glanced at Vanessa and Candy. "You girls would be good for the team also. Do either of you cheer?"

Odd spoke up. "Vanessa does." He pointed at his sister.

Vanessa clenched her fists. "Odd!"

"She used to be captain of her cheerleading team back in California."

"Odd!" Vanessa made a grab for Odd but he jumped back.

Kylie smiled. "Cool." She turned to Candy. "What about you?"

Candy smiled. "Sure I'll try out."

Kylie smiled. "Good. We could use another pretty face like yours." With a quick flip of her hair, Kylie spun on her heel and walked back to her squad.

Once Kylie was out of ear shot Vanessa turned back to Odd. "I hate you."

But Odd wasn't paying her any attention. Neither was Aelita, Yumi, or Ulrich. They were too busy watching as a familiar blond boy with glasses approached them.


	13. Chapter 13: Taking Things Too Far

**Yo Yo Yo's, its PSRose! I don't own code lyoko or any of its characters and blah blah blah.**

**Warning: Use of the word bastard and other swear words.**

The moment Jeremie found his friends, he knew something was up. For one thing, there were at least a dozen cheerleaders that looked like Yumi. Two other girls were standing with his friends, and his friends looked traumatized when they saw him.

Jeremie walked up to them and dropped his suitcases next to his feet. "Hi guys."

The gang looked at their friend. He hadn't changed much. He still had glasses and shaggy blond hair. He was still as scrawny and small as ever, even Aelita towered above him by two inches.

Ulrich finally spoke. "Hi Jeremie."

Jeremie noted that Ulrichs voice had grown slightly deeper and was probably done with puberty while Jeremie hadn't even started.

Everyone else mumbled their hellos. Jeremie noticed that everyone else had also grown quite a lot over the summer.

Odd gestured to the two girls. "This is my sister Vanessa, and her roomate Candy."

Jeremie noticed that Odd also matured like Ulrich. He was buffer and taller and not as scrawny as he used to be.

Glancing at the two girls Jeremie immediadly went back into his old competitive habits. "Whats your IQ?"

Vanessa and Candy both crossed their arms. Vanessa spoke. "I don't know. I'm not some grades obsesive."

Jeremie shrugged and turned to Candy. "What about you Cassie?"

Candy glared at him. "Candy, and I don't bother with IQ tests."

Jeremie sighed. "Well that's a shame. The grades of underprivlidged Mexicans have been dropping and I was hopeing that I'd be able to meet someone of the hispanic race that can actually complete an IQ test."

Candy's mouth fell open. Everyone's mouth fell open.

Candy turned red with rage. She began shouting things at Jeremie in spanish and dropping the occasional word that was familiar to her audience. It took all of Ulrich and Yumi's strength to keep Candy back away from Jeremie who looked surprized at her sudden burst of rage.

Jeremie never knew when he crossed the line. When he hurt peoples feelings. When he insulted someones family. When he was given love and abused it.

Aelita finally realized this. She moved closer towards Jeremie. "We need to talk."

Jeremie glanced at Aelita. She had gotten more curves and sharper angles over the summer. He nodded.

Aelita turned to Odd and quickly whispered to him. "Take everyone to Candy and Vanessa's room or something. Let Candy cool off. I'm going to finally end this crap with Jeremie."

Odd nodded. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Aelita shook her head. "I need to do this on my own."

Odd smiled and began to assist Yumi and Ulrich in pinning Candy to the ground. The girl was strong.

Aelita glanced at Jeremie and began walking towards her dorm, expecting him to follow.

Jeremie got the message and followed her into the dorm building. He almost had to jog to catch up with her long stribes from her long, tan, curvy, legs.

Aelita entered her room and closed the door behnd her and Jeremie. Jeremie went and plopped down on the bed. He patted the space next to him.

Instead, Aelita sat down on the couch across from him.

"Why did you just insult Candy?"

Jeremie cringed. "I didn't insult anybody."

Aelita scoweled at him. "Yes you did. You insulted Candy, her family, and the entire hispanic race!"

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "It's not like anyone got hurt."

"No. Someone did get hurt. Someone always gets hurt because of you."

Jeremie stood. "Aelita! How could you say something so nasty?"

Aelita also stood. She towered above him making Jeremie shrink away in fear. "How could **I** say something so nasty? Jeremie you're the one that doesn't care about anyones feelings! You're a heartless bastard that doesn't care about anyone but yourself!"

Jeremie starred up at Aelita. "Don't you love me?" He whispered.

Aelita scoweled at him. "I love Odd."

…

…

…

Jeremie stood in shock as his heart shattered into a million pieces. He silently starred at Aelita.

Then he sprang at her.


	14. Chapter 14: Tongue Tied

**I don't own Code Lyoko or any of its… ok you know that I don't own it! I apologize ****Stormypelt's Rose****, but this chapter was already complete before I posted the previous chapter.**

**Oh yeah, my contest!**

…

**Yeah I'm still not ready to talk about it yet.**

Aelita shrieked out as Jeremie tackled her to the ground. She may have been stronger than him, but he knocked her down so quick that she didn't have any time to react.

"Jeremie what are you doing?" Aelita yelled as he pinned her to the ground.

"Cut the crap! I know it's you Xana!" Jeremie yelled.

Aelita stopped struggling. "What?"

"The real Aelita would never love Odd!" Jeremie yelled again.

Aelita started to struggle again. "Get off me! I'm not Xana!"

Suddenly, the door burst open. "Is everything alright? We heard screaming." Odd gasped when he saw Aelita struggling under Jeremie. "What the hell are you doing to her!"

Jeremie looked up at Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich. "It's ok guys, it's not really Aelita, it's Xana."

Aelita pushed Jeremie off of herself and stood up. "I'm not Xana!"

Jeremie was about to tackle Aelita once again but Ulrich grabbed him. "Whoa! Hang on a second Jeremie. I don't think Aelita is possessed by Xana."

Jeremie stomped his foot like a five year old. "No! It has to be Xana!"

"Why?" Yumi said.

"Because this," Jeremie pointed at Aelita. "Just made a mistake. It said that it was in love with Odd."

Jeremie crossed his arms. A satisfied smirk on his face.

"But she does love me." Odd said as he went over to Aelita and wrapped an arm around her. "And I love her."

Realization hit Jeremie like a brick. Once again, his heart shattered into a million pieces. "But, but, but…"

"I'm sorry Jeremie, but I just don't have the same feelings for you like I used to." Aelita said.

Jeremie starred at Odd and Aelita. He stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

Aelita sighed. "Now I feel bad."

Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich surrounded Aelita in a hug.

"Don't Aelita." Yumi said. "He had it coming."

Aelita sighed again. "I know."

They broke apart. Aelita spoke again. "I just can't believe he thought I was Xana."

"Whose Xana?" Candy and Vanessa spoke simultaneously as they walked into the room.

"Jeremie's cousin." Ulrich replied quickly. The gang had rehearsed this in case Vanessa or Candy asked questions.

"So, why did Jeremie think Aelita was,"

Vanessa was cut off by Odd.

"Candy! How you feeling?"

Candy scowled. "I still want to kick the vida out of Jeremie… but otherwise I'm just dandy!" Candy spoke the last part sarcastically.

Everyone laughed and began to head to lunch. As they walked, Odd and Aelita began to drift a couple of feet behind the others. Vanessa turned back to Aelita.

"Oh Aelita, I forgot to tell you. I really like your necklace."

Aelita smiled. "Thanks. It's a gift from someone special."

Vanessa smiled and turned back around.

Once they were sure Vanessa wasn't looking, Odd slung an arm around Aelita's waist and kissed her on the cheek.

**Hehe it's short, I know, but hey, that's show business.**


	15. Chapter 15: Summer Memories

**Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Code Lyoko season 5 IS coming out! I repeat, it IS coming out! Just check out **

**!1**

The first few days of classes slowly dragged on. Yumi, Vanessa and Candy had most of their classes together, and the same for Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie. Even though the seven teens had lunch together, they were seeing a lot less of Jeremie. At lunch Jeremie sat with some kids from robotics club. He still hadn't spoken to Aelita or Odd since the little incident that happened Sunday.

Xana had been strangely quiet. He hadn't launched an attack since late June back when everyone was on vacation.

~~~Flash Back~~~

Yumi and Aelita had been tanning at the beach. Aelita's hair had just begun to tint cherry blossom pink, and her skin was just beginning to tan.

"Aelita, can you pass the sun block?" Yumi said. She was lying on her back with her arms crossed behind her head.

Aelita mumbled something into her towel. She was lying on her stomach letting her back bake in the sun.

Yumi peered over the rim of her sun glasses at Aelita. She grabbed a handful of white sand and lazily flung it at her.

"What!" Aelita's head shot up and she glared at Yumi.

Yumi laughed. "Give me the sun screen. I'm about to go surfing."

Aelita tossed her the bottle of sun screen. It wasn't like Yumi needed it; Yumi never burned or even tanned for that matter. Aelita sometimes joked that Yumi was a vampire. Yumi would snapily reply "Shut up or I'll bite your neck."

When Yumi was finished applying sun screen she grabbed her board. It was white with black lotus flowers on it.

Yumi started paddling out and was instantly greeted by a wave.

Aelita watched Yumi surf for a while. Yumi was really good; it was like she grew up in the ocean. The ocean seemed to like Yumi to because as Yumi surfed, the waves got bigger and bigger. Aelita soon had to move their stuff up higher on the beach because the water was crashing higher up the beach.

Aelita shivered. The wind was picking up and clouds soon began to block out the sun.

Aelita pulled on her shirt over her pink cherry bikini.

"Hey Yumi! We should probably head home, it looks like a storm's coming!" Aelita yelled out to her. She began to move their stuff even higher up the beach. The waves were crashing even closer. The board rental shop was being hit by waves. As Aelita moved their stuff, her phone fell from her bag. She grabbed it and gasped when she saw the eye of Xana flashing on it.

"Yumi! Yumi! Yumi it's Xana!"

Yumi didn't hear her though. She was gaping at the enormous wave coming towards her. She started paddling towards it and turned when she was close enough. Yumi stared to paddle with the wave, then she stood up. She quickly realized that the wave was bigger than anything she had ever surfed before. She couldn't handle it. She was about to just jump off and bail the wave, when something amazing happened. She was riding in the tunnel. Yumi had heard other surfers talk about riding in the tunnel, how glorious it felt, and how it was so rare to catch a wave big enough in France that you could actually ride inside the tunnel, but Yumi was never able to imagine it. And now, she was actually doing it.

Yumi gasped as realization hit her and she was yanked out of lala land. The tunnel was closing. Yumi yelped out as the water crashed down on her. She was pulled under.

"Yumi! Yumi!" Aelita screamed. She had watched Yumi get swallowed into the wave.

Aelita franticly scanned the water, trying to see Yumi. Suddenly something black popped up.

"Yumi!" Aelita screamed. Yumi paddled over to her board and clung to it. Trying to catch her breath. Another enormous wave came and crashed down on Yumi. She came back up for air but before she got the chance, _another_ wave crashed down on top of her.

Aelita franticly scanned the water once again looking for Yumi. Two things surfaced and Aelita quickly sighed in relief. Her relief was shattered though, when Aelita realized that the two things were Yumi's board, broken in half by the waves.

Yumi spun and flipped underwater as the waves knocked her about. She opened her eyes underwater but the sand was so disturbed that it was swirling around in the water, making it impossible to see.

Yumi couldn't tell which way was up. She franticly swam in what she hoped was up, but smacked into something grainy. The waves continued to knock Yumi around and smack her into the bottom. Yumi gasped for air and her lungs filled with water. With the last energy she had Yumi screamed under water as her vision went hazy. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked up. Her rescuer dragged her to the surface.

Yumi spat out water when they broke the surface. She looked over to see Aelita also sputtering and gasping for air. Aelita held onto Yumi's arm and pulled her over to Aelita's rental board. It was pink like the shirt Aelita was wearing that was clinging to her body from the water.

When Yumi could breathe again she looked over at Aelita. "Thanks Aelita."

Aelita looked out at the next wave coming towards them. "Don't thank me yet!"

The girls were knocked under the waves but quickly were pulled up by Aelita's board.

"Hang on tight and start paddling towards the shore!" Aelita yelled. The girls paddled a few more feet before they were knocked under again. They kept on like that until they were close enough to the shore that they could stand up. Once they could, they ditched the board and began to run up the beach. Aelita looked back in time to see her board being destroyed by the next wave.

"Aw man! That was a rental!" Aelita screamed. Yumi grabbed her hand and the girls began to run up the stairs that lead to the parking lot.

"Yumi, it's Xana." Aelita said as the girls ran through the parking lot. The water crashed onto the pavement.

"Ok, let's head to the factory." Yumi yelled. The girls ran through town earning strange looks from bystanders. It's not exactly normal for two teen girls in bikinis to run through town when a storm is at full blast.

The girls gasped as the factory came into view. The factory was on the canal, which led out into the ocean. The canal was overflowing with water and water was getting dangerously close to the factory.

"Come on, let's go." Aelita tugged Yumi to the factory.

…

"I've set a delayed virtulization." Aelita hit the enter key and returned to the elevator beside Yumi. The girls descended into the scanner room. The girls separated into individual scanners. As they waited for the doors to close, a loud _creek_ was heard from above.

"The water." Yumi said nervously. "It must be straining the factory walls."

"This factory had been here a long time. It should be able to hold up." Aelita said.

Yumi nodded. Their scanner doors closed.

"For a while any way." Aelita mumbled as she was lifted and scanned.

…

The girls touched down on the ice sector. They were in an area where there was mostly water. Ironic, really.

"There's the tower!" Aelita pointed at the tower that was in the middle of a lake, About a hundred meters away.

The girls began to run towards the tower. When they got to the lake, they weren't sure what to do.

"How do we get across?" Yumi asked Aelita.

Aelita looked around. She saw a chunk of ice close to the shore. "There!"

The girls jumped on. Yumi pushed off from the shore with her foot as hard as she could. They began to glide towards the tower slowly. Aelita was glancing around nervously.

"What's wrong?" Yumi said as she sat down on their make shift boat.

"Where are all the monsters?" Aelita said nervously.

Aelita's question was answered when a gang of hornets came in sight.

"Aelita, try to stay behind me." Yumi said as she stood and took out her fans. Aelita crouched down behind Yumi.

"Hai!" Yumi threw her fans at the hornets but only snagged one of them. It burst.

The other hornets began to fire at Yumi. She franticly blocked the attacks with her fans. A laser hit her in the chest and she was knocked backwards. She skidded backwards and came to a halt near the edge of the ice berg.

"Yumi!" Aelita tried to go to her friend but the hornets began to fire at the space between them.

The hornets broke the ice berg in half and Aelita's chunk began to float away.

"Yumi!" Aelita helplessly yelled once again.

Suddenly, a blood curdling screeching filled the air. Aelita turned to be met by the scyphozoa.

"Aelita!" Yumi yelled as she threw her fan at the hornets. She successfully hit one of them leaving only two more.

The scyphozoa grabbed Aelita and began to drain her memory. Yumi franticly fought the hornets, but they kept hitting her with lasers, and she was losing more and more life points.

Seeing that battling the hornets was no use, Yumi tossed her fans at the scyphozoa. She was lucky. The fan sliced through its tentacles, and dropped Aelita into the water before departing.

"Oh no!" Yumi yelled. She sighed in relief when Aelita surfaced.

"Aelita! Swim to the tower before the hornets," Yumi didn't get to finish because she was hit in the back by a hornet, and she was divirtualized.

…

"What is with those stupid hornets?" Yumi screamed. She hit her fist against the door of her scanner waiting for her legs to be virtualized so the doors would open.

The doors opened and Yumi screamed as her scanner was filled with water. The scanner room was filled to the ceiling with water. Yumi, being the quick reactor that she was, began to swim towards the ladder that led up to the computer room. She squeezed through the hole and gasped in the air. The computer room had only a foot of water flooding it. Yumi sloshed through the water to the computer and thanked the lord because by some strange miracle, the computer was still working.

…

Aelita franticly swam threw the water doing her best to avoid the lasers of the hornets. The water here was different than the water on earth. On earth you felt like the water was holding you up, supporting your weight. Here the water felt like nothing, just like you were being suspended in the air. And t didn't feel as great as you would think.

"Aelita?" Yumi's voice rang out over the speakers.

"Yumi! Thank god. How are things there at the factory?"

"Bad. Really bad. The scanner room is filled to the ceiling with water, so don't get divirtualized."

"Working on it!" Aelita yelled angrily as she dodged another blast. She finally made it to the tower and stumbled in side. Aelita ran to the center and stepped on the center of the eye. She floated up to the second platform and entered code: Lyoko

"Return to the past now." Yumi hit the enter key and the white bubble engulfed the world.

The girls found their selves back on the beach.

"Whoa that was weird."

…

Ulrich found himself back in his room playing call of duty.

"What just happened?"

…

Jeremie found himself back in his dining room with his parents.

"Whoa. Major déjà vu."

…

Odd found himself in Vanessa's room once again. Glass was everywhere and blood was on the carpet. The couch was knocked over and there was dirt speckled on the carpet from the broken flour vase destroyed in the struggle.

Odd gasped when he again saw his sister lying limp on the floor. Her blond curls were spread out on the floor and her face that was pressed into the carpet. Her pale purple dress was stained with blood, both her own, and the blood of _him._ He who shall not be named. (No, it's not Voldemort!)

Odd ran to her and dropped to his knees beside her. He pulled her head into his lap and rolled her face over. Her flawless face was now covered in blood. Blood drizzled down from her nose and poured from her mouth. A deep gash marked her forehead.

"Molly! Call 911!" Odd screamed to his younger sister. The dirty blond that was standing in the door frame nodded and ran down the hallway.

"Again." Odd mumbled silently.

~~~End Flash Back~~~


	16. Chapter 16: Amends

**Ok…just saw Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows… and it ROCKED! Code Lyoko Season 5 is coming out in 2012, I hope it comes out before the world ends…JK! ;) I don't own code Lyoko or any of its characters. Please, please, please review! I'll take ALL reviews into consideration.**

Everything was quiet in the cafeteria, it was Wednesday morning and all the kids were sleepily eating their breakfast. No one was fully awake yet, until the cafeteria doors swung open.

"Odd Della Robia!" Yumi yelled.

"I think she saw it." Candy said with a laugh.

Yumi stomped over to towards their table but was blocked by Sissi. Angrily, Yumi shoved Sissi aside.

"Yep. She defiantly saw it." Odd said as he crawled under the table.

Yumi grabbed his arm. "Odd Della Robia!" She repeated.

Odd turned to face her. She was angrier than he expected. "You called?"

Yumi gripped his arm harder. "Why is my name on the sophomore cheer sign ups?"

Odd's expression fell. "Ohhh. I thought you were talking about something else. Yeah. That one's not mine." He pointed at Candy. "That one's all her."

Yumi looked at Candy. "Why did you put my name on the sign ups?" She yelled at Candy. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it!"

Candy tipped her chair back and crossed her arms behind her head. "Cut the gimoteo Yumi. You know you wanted to do it."

Vanessa snickered. "Yeah, and those stupid sequin miniskirts look fabulous."

Yumi smirked at Vanessa. "Glad you think so. Cause your name is on the sign up, too."

Vanessa nearly choked on her waffle. "What?" She turned to Candy. "You did what?"

Everyone but Vanessa and Yumi were laughing.

"Don't worry. I signed up too." Candy said when the laughter died down.

For some reason, that didn't make either of the girls feel better.

…

Later that day…

At about 11:30PM…

A beeping awoke Jeremie from his dreams. He put his glasses on and went over to his computer. A red exclamation point was throbbing on his screen.

"Xana, you sure know how to get your timing right." Jeremie muttered.

Jeremie poked his head out his door and glanced down the hallway. No Jim.

He sprinted down to Ulrich and Odd's room and prayed that the door was unlocked. Luckily it was.

Jeremie slipped inside and went over to the bunk bed. He shook Ulrich awake.

"Jeremie? What are you doing here?" Ulrich mumbled.

"Ulrich it's Xana."

Ulrich muttered something and rolled out of bed. "Hey Odd. Wake up, it's Xana."

Odd didn't budge. Ulrich threw his pillow at Odd.

Odd moaned. "Uhg, Aelita…"

Jeremie flinched.

Ulrich grabbed Odd's arm and yanked him off the top bunk.

Odd hit the floor with a loud thud. "Ulrich? What the hell!"

Ulrich suppressed a laugh. "Come on it's Xana. We have to get Aelita."

Odd nodded and finally noticed Jeremie. He racked his brain for something to say, some sort of apology.

"Jeremie, I…"

Jeremie glanced at Odd and slightly glared at him.

Odd shook his head and turned away.

The three boys slipped down to the girls dorm hallway. Odd quietly tapped on the door.

A moment later Aelita opened it, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Xana."

Aelita looked at Odd and nodded.

The four moved cautiously down another flight of stairs then emerged into the school yard. They ran across the dew covered grass and stopped under the shelter of a willow tree. The three looked at Ulrich.

"What?" He said a little irritated.

"Aren't you going to call Yumi?" Aelita murmured. She sat down on the grass and rested her tired head against the tree trunk.

Ulrich took out his phone and dialed Yumi's number. It went to voice mail. He called again with the same results.

"Voice mail?" Odd asked.

"Yep." Ulrich hung his head. "And now I have to run seven blocks to get her."

Odd smiled. "Yep."

Ulrich muttered something under his breath and began to run towards the gate. If it was anyone else Ulrich would refuse.

Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd glanced at each other, before nervously looking back at the ground. They took off towards the sewer.

…

Ulrich stopped in front of Yumi's house and stood for a moment, catching his breath. Then he ran around the side of the house. Ulrich climbed the cherry blossom tree up to Yumi's balcony. He managed to cut and nick himself on the branches. Ulrich knocked on the sliding glass door softly.

Nothing.

Ulrich knocked again, but louder.

Nothing.

Ulrich sighed. He tugged on the doors handle and was surprised to see the door slide open. She forgot to lock it. Ulrich stepped inside and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. He walked over to Yumi's bed.

"Yumi." Ulrich whispered.

She didn't move.

A little worried, Ulrich gently took Yumi's shoulder and shook her.

Yumi's eyes popped open. They were like sapphires radiating the room with a soft glow. "Ulrich?"

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Who else would they send to retrieve you?"

Yumi smirked and sat up. "Is it Xana?"

Ulrich nodded. "And he sure knows how to pick great timing."

Yumi rolled out of her bed and stood up. Ulrich's breath hitched. She was wearing a silk black tang top and silk black shorts.

Adverting his eyes from her, Ulrich headed towards the sliding glass door. The two of them walked out onto the balcony. Yumi shoot the door and turned to watch as Ulrich climbed over the railing and stepped onto a branch on her cherry blossom tree. She smirked and watched him for another moment.

Ulrich was almost to the bottom when he looked up at Yumi. She was leaning on the railing smirking at him. "Aren't you coming?" Ulrich asked.

Yumi climbed over the rail."There's an easier way you know."

Ulrich made it to the grass and looked up at her.

Yumi dropped from the balcony next to him on the grass.

Ulrich cringed. "Doesn't that hurt? It's at least ten feet."

Yumi shrugged. "A little bit. But I've fallen further."

Memories of fallen thirty feet in the factory with Yumi flashed through Ulrich's mind. He shuttered.

The two began to jog towards the factory.

…

"Ok guys. The activated tower is in the forest sector. I'm sending you now."

Jeremie sent the four to the forest sector. The four of them touched down on the digital grass. Odd glanced around. "What? No welcome party?"

"There's no monsters on my screen either. Keep your eyes out though. I'm sending your vehicles."

Odd hopped on his overboard and Ulrich hopped onto his overbike. Yumi stepped onto the overwing. Aelita was about to step on with her when suddenly a pink disk appeared in front of her.

"What is this?" Aelita said. It was pink and clear and floated. It looked like an upside down Frisbee.

"It's called the overdisk. Just a little something I've been working on. Why don't you try it out?"

Aelita stepped onto the disk. It was similar to the overboard but had more balance, like the overwing.

"It works great!" Aelita said happily.

Jeremie smiled, pleased with his work.

The four headed to the tower. Aelita got in and deactivated it. No monsters. No Xana.

…

"What was that all about?" Yumi asked Jeremie as the four of them walked over to Jeremie.

Jeremie had been pondering this. Nothing had happened on earth. No monsters attached on Lyoko. "I'm not sure what Xana was planning, but for all we know, it could have been just a screw up by Xana."

Ulrich threw his hands up angrily. "I missed two hours of sleep for this?"

…

The five of them walked back. Ulrich decided to walk Yumi home, which was ironic because he seemed to be the most eager to hit the sack.

Aelita and the boys separated. The boys went up the stairs to their hallway and Aelita started to walk down to her room. She was just passing room 123 when a loud voice startled her.

"Stones! It's 1:30 in the morning! What are you doing up out of your dorm?"

Aelita looked up at Jim. "I was, uh, just, uh…"

Jim grabbed her arm. "Tell it to the principle."

Suddenly room 123's door opened. "Aelita! Thanks so much for grabbing me that aspirin from the nurse."

Aelita quickly caught on. "No problem Vanessa."

Jim dropped her arm. "Well I see there has been a misunderstanding. Carry on." Jim nodded at Aelita and continued his patrol down the hall.

Vanessa winked at Aelita.

Aelita sighed in relief. "Thanks for the cover Vanessa."

Vanessa nodded. "What ARE you doing at 1:30 in the morning?"

Aelita just shrugged. "Went for some fresh air." Aelita quickly went into her room.

Vanessa shut her room's door. She had seen Aelita with Jeremie and Odd, and she had a feeling that they were doing something other than just going for some fresh air.


	17. Chapter 17: Cheer Tryouts

**Guess what everyone? My best friend just tore my leg muscle so now I can't play soccer for like a month! And on top of that, she just stole my boyfriend! Isn't life grand? For my little anonymous reader dude, code Lyoko hit the US back in like 2003. I'm talking about code Lyoko season 5, which is coming to the US in 2012. And I never said that Odd DIDN'T have 6 sisters. I've just only made a reference to 2 of them. **

"So then, Hitler invaded France."

Yumi groaned softly and rested her head in her hand. She glanced at the clock. Seventy minutes of Mr Condor blabbing was worse than she expected. She looked over at Candy and Colin who were sitting at the table in front of her. Colin's bangs hung in front of his eyes, but Yumi was sure they were closed. Candy was resting her head on the table, red curls spilled across the counter top.

Yumi looked over at Vanessa who was sitting next to her. Vanessa was looking down at her hands, a puzzled look on her face.

Yumi nudged Vanessa with her foot. Vanessa broke out of her trance and glanced at Yumi.

"Something wrong Vanessa?" Yumi reached into her bag and pulled out a granola bar.

Vanessa hesitated for a moment. "Yumi, do you know what a Lyoko is?"

Yumi choked on her granola bar.

"Ms Ishiyama, are you all right?" Mr Condor asked rather irritated.

Yumi shook her head. "No ser I need to go to the infirmary… and Vanessa has to come with me!" Before their teacher could respond, Yumi grabbed Vanessa's arm and yanked her out the door.

Once they were in a private area, Yumi turned back to Vanessa. "Who told you about Lyoko?"

"Well, Odd…"

"…Odd? Odd told you?" Yumi threw her hands up in the air. "Great! Now Xana is going to go after you too!"

Vanessa gaped at Yumi. She too threw her hands in the air. "Oh my god! I am so confused!"

Yumi cautiously looked at Vanessa. "How much did Odd tell you?"

"Odd didn't tell me anything. Well not purposefully anyway. I heard him, Jeremie, and Aelita talking about Lyoko upgrades or something last night. And what does Jeremie's cousin have to do with this?"

Yumi racked her brain for a lie. "Well, Umm, Xana, Jeremie's cousin, is the head of a video game company. And, they're creating a video game that is called Lyoko. And, the video game is a secret right now, and Jeremie wasn't even supposed to tell Ulrich, Odd, Aelita and me, so Xana's mad about that, and now you know, so, he's going to be pissed."

Yumi bit her lip, pleading that Vanessa would believe it.

Vanessa looked at Yumi. She didn't believe any of it. All the trust that she had built with Yumi was now broken."But…"

Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. Candy appeared by their sides.

"Hey, what happened with you two?"

Yumi shrugged. "Nothing."

Vanessa glared at Yumi. "Yeah. Everything is fabulous."

Candy looked back and forth between them. "Glad to hear it. Cause we have to go to cheerleading try outs."

Yumi and Vanessa groaned as Candy dragged them away.

…

"French fry?"

"Wi wi."

Aelita smiled and fed Odd a French fry from her plate. Odd got a French fry for Aelita, but just before he placed it in her mouth, he yanked it back and put it in his mouth.

Aelita frowned. "What, you care about your food more than me?"

Odd also frowned. Then, he picked up one of his French fries and popped it into Aelita's mouth. Aelita smiled and ate her French fry.

Suddenly, Ulrich ran into the cafeteria. He scanned the rows of tables until his eyes fell on Aelita and Odd. Ulrich jogged up to them.

"Guys, you gotta come see this." Ulrich grabbed them by their wrists and yanked them out to the foot ball field where the cheerleading tryouts were taking place.

Luckily, most of the cheerleaders had returned to their normal, colorful outfits and weren't copying Yumi anymore.

The cheerleaders were doing the stunting portion of tryouts. There were seven groups of girls, each putting a girl up in a prep. The first girl they noticed was Yumi. She was the flyer of her stunt.

"Yumi, make sure to lock your knees. You need to be tight or you'll fall." Kylie was Yumi's back spot, the leader of the stunt.

"Ok Kylie." Yumi stiffened a bit, and the bases Trina and Stephanie seemed to be able to hold her up better.

"And Sissi," Kylie looked through Yumi's legs at Sissi who was the front spot. "You need to hold Yumi's shins together more, or she'll end up doing a split."

Sissi rolled her eyes and pulled Yumi's legs closer together. The front spot wasn't a necessity of a stunt, it was more of a place for a spare cheerleader. A cheerleader that is too small to be a base or cheerleader, but too weak to be a flyer.

Yumi noticed Ulrich, Odd and Aelita. She smiled and waved at them.

"Ok guys, let's cradle. Remember what I showed you Yumi?" Kylie asked Yumi.

Yumi nodded. "Just let the bases do the work. Ride the toss up, V, and arms out."

Kylie smiled her approval. "Ready guys? 1,2, down, up!"

Yumi did a perfect cradle, but Sissi didn't move out of the way, and got kicked in the face.

Sissi clutched her nose. "My nose! My nose! Yumi!"

Kylie rolled her eyes as she and the bases released Yumi. "Sissi, you know you're supposed to move to the side when we cradle. That was a perfect cradle Yumi. Steph, try to hold Yumi's foot up a bit higher, you and Trina were uneven. Great job girls. Let's try one more time."

Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita walked over to Candy's stunt. Candy was the back spot of her stunt, and was doing a good job leading it. Trisha, the assistant coach, was standing next to Candy, helping her direct the stunt and giving her tips on how to hold the flyer.

Candy noticed Ulrich Aelita and Odd. Unable to take her hands away from her flyrs legs in fear of her falling, Candy just smiled and nodded at them. "You guys have to go see Vanessa. She is muy espectacular."

The gang then walked over to Vanessa's stunt. Aelita and Ulrich gasped, and Odd just smirked.

Due to her cheerleading background, Vanessa was practicing with some of last year's best cheerleaders. Connie and Lonnie, twins, and strongest bases in the state. Alyssa, back spot, tallest of the sophomores and sweetest girl in the school. Samantha, the best dancer on the team and would have been a flyer, but her amazing tumbling skills made her a tumbler instead.

And the flyer who was now in a full lib, Vanessa.

Coach Liz was watching Vanessa with a smile. "Great job Vanessa. Did you learn how to do a twist back on your old team?"

Vanessa smiled. "Yeah!"

Coach nodded. "Alright, let's see it. Alyssa, you know what to do."

Alyssa smiled. "Ready? One, two, down up!" The girls tossed Vanessa high into the air. Vanessa sailed up, and as she fell, twisted horizontally once and landed in the girls arms.

Coach Liz wrote something down on her clip board. "Fabulous job Vanessa."

Vanessa was beaming. Odd was too. For the first time since the accident, his sister looked genuinely happy.

Coach Liz noticed Aelita. "Hey, are you trying out?"

Aelita shook her head. "No, I'm a freshman."

Coach Liz smiled. "Sweaty, freshman can try out too. But they have to be really good."

"Really? Well anyways, I'm about as flexible as cement, so, no thanks."

Coach Liz nodded. She noticed the other two boys. "And I suppose you're not trying out either."

Ulrich and Odd shook their heads, grabbed Aelita's wrists, and ran away as fast as they could.

Coach Liz smirked. Whenever there were boys snooping around cheerleading tryouts, that trick always sent them running.


	18. Chapter 18: Dance Part 1

_Beginning of the school year dance_

_Tonight (AKA, Friday)_

_7:00-11:00_

_Hope to see you there!_

Aelita smiled as Odd read the flyer to the gang. Jeremie was finally lightening up and hanging out with them again, and the list of girls that made the cheerleading squad would be posted tomorrow morning. She snapped back into reality as Odd read the last line.

"That sounds fun. We should all go." Yumi said as she stepped closer to Ulrich.

"Yeah. We should all go together in a group, just as friends." Odd said as he glanced at Jeremie.

Jeremie shook his head. "You guys, I'm over it. You can go together."

Odd and Aelita smiled at him. "Thanks Jeremie, but we're still supposed to be cousins."

Ulrich frowned. "You know, that might become a problem for you two."

Aelita let her head drop. "I know. It already has."

Odd nodded. "Yeah. We already have to lie about the cousin thing. And now we have to lie about our relationship too."

Yelling and screaming ended the conversation. The gang turned and ran towards the noise. They came across a huge mob of boys. In the center of them, was Candy.

"Candy! Will you go to the dance with me?"

"No! Go with me!"

"Pick me!"

"Candy!"

"Please pick me!"

Candy tried to settle the boys down, but they were going crazy. Two guys were already fist fighting.

"HEY! SHUT UP!" Candy yelled. The boys froze and went silent.

"Bárbaros!" Candy mumbled as she brushed herself off. "I have a boyfriend!"

If sadness could make a sound, there would be an explosion. Twenty seven boys let their shoulders and heads droop as they walked away.

Candy let out a sigh of relief and plopped down on the bench. Yumi sat down next to her.

"I didn't know you have a boyfriend."

Candy shook her head. "Even if I didn't have a boyfriend, I would have lied to get those idiotos off my back."

Ulrich laughed. "Well, do you want to come with us all to the dance; we're going as a group."

Candy smiled. "I'd love to, but I'm flying out to Spain tonight for my abuelito's cumpleaños. I'll be gone for the whole weekend."

Odd groaned and covered his ears.

"What's wrong?" Jeremie asked Odd.

"Stop speaking Spanish Candy! I can't follow any of the things you say!"

Candy smirked. "Lo que está mal? Es usted demasiado tontos para mantener una conversación?"

Everyone laughed as Odd tried to understand what she said.

…

Meanwhile, at the factory…

A beeping filled the computer room. A swirl of black mist exited the monitor and shot into the city.

…

"What do you think?" Aelita asked Vanessa.

Vanessa turned around to face Aelita. The girls were in Aelita's room getting ready for the dance.

"Wow. You look pretty."

Aelita was wearing a purple miny dress with a black belt around the waist. She was wearing a black head band and black heels.

"Thanks, and you look…"

Vanessa was wearing her usual black tang top, magenta capris, and high tops.

"Ok, why aren't you changing?"

Vanessa shrugged. "What's wrong with this?"

"Don't you want to get dressed up?"

Vanessa frowned. "I don't have any dressy uppy clothes that I wanna wear."

Aelita rolled her eyes. "You're so related to Odd."

The girls were interrupted by a knock on the door. Aelita walked over to the door and opened it. No one was there. She glanced down and noticed a white box with black bow on it. A little tag showed that it was addressed to her. Aelita returned back into the room with the box, wondering who it was from.

"Who's the box from?"

Aelita knit her eyebrows. "I'm… not sure."

"Well, open it and find out."

Aelita carefully pulled the bow off and removed the lid off the box. She pulled out its contents. A black sequined dress dangled from her hands. A folded note dropped into her lap.

"Whoa. That dress is gorgeous." Vanessa gazed at the dress in awe.

"There's a note."

_I hope to see you in this dress tonight. –A secret admirer_

"Who could have sent this?" Vanessa asked Aelita.

Aelita thought that it might be from Odd, but the thought was brushed away because Odd had helped her pick out an outfit earlier that day.

"I have no idea." Aelita said.

"Well, are you gonna wear it?" Vanessa asked.

Aelita really liked the outfit she was already wearing, and the whole idea of wearing a dress from someone she doesn't know sounded creepy.

"Nah. I'm just going to wear what I've got on." Aelita dropped the dress onto the bed.

Vanessa grabbed it and held it up. "But you can't let a beautiful dress like this just go too waste!"

Aelita shrugged. "Then you wear it."

Vanessa's head shot up. "Really?"

"Yeah. It'll look great on you." Aelita smiled.

"Thanks Aelita!" Vanessa hugged Aelita.

…

Aelita, Jeremie, Vanessa, Odd, and Ulrich had just arrived at the dance. Different colored lights flashed throughout the gym, and streamers dangled from the ceiling. Music was blaring from the speakers, and kids were dancing all over the place.

"Ulrich dear!"

Ulrich turned around to face Sissi. Ulrich was wearing black jeans and sneakers, a white shirt and grey jacket.

"What is it Sissi?"

Sissi smiled and flipped her ugly extensions. She was wearing a pale pink miny dress and heels that were at least eight inches. "Care to share your first dance of the night with me?" Sissi fluttered her heavily mascaraed eye lashes. She resembled a Barbie doll.

Ulrich scowled. "Sorry, but I promised Yumi I'd dance with her first."

Sissi snarled. "Well, I don't see her anywhere."

Odd was looking towards the doorway. "I do."

Everyone turned towards the direction of the doorway. Yumi was coming through the doors and gazing around at the upgraded gym. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that flowed down to slightly above the knees. Black fishnet leggings braided their way down her legs, and at her feet she was wearing a pair of high heeled short black boots that made her legs look even longer. Her black raven hair was lightly curled and graced her flawless face that had now spotted her friends. Yumi waved to them and walked up to the gang.

Standing next to Yumi, Sissi looked like a seven year old tramp wearing her mama's shoes. Sissi angrily walked off.

"Wow. You look really pretty Yumi." Ulrich said. He lightly blushed.

Yumi smiled. "Thanks. You clean up nicely too."

"Coming through. Move out of the way! Reporters coming through!"

The gang turned to find Milly and Tamiya shoving through the sea of dancing bodies and approaching them.

"Yumi! Yumi! Can you tell us about your transformation from goth to glamour?" Milly shoved the microphone into Yumi's face.

"Um, I just decided to brighten up my wardrobe I guess." Yumi pushed the microphone away.

"And Vanessa," Milly thrust the microphone towards Vanessa. "How does it feel to be the third member of the Della Robia family to join Kadiac academy?"

The gang looked in fear at Vanessa.

"What are you…" Vanessa began. Odd quickly grabbed her arm.

"Well, ok guys! It's not called a dance for nothing! Haha let's go!"

…

The rest of the dance went pretty smoothly. The Lyoko gang was able to keep Vanessa away from Milly and Tamiya. Around nine thirty though, things got rockey.

…

Jeremie ran up to Odd and Aelita who were in the middle of a dance. "You guys. Something's wrong."

Aelita broke away from Odd. "What?"

Jeremie pulled out his laptop. "I think Xana is attaching."

"Xana's attaching?" Yumi and Ulrich had emerged from the crowd and were now next to them.

Jeremie began typing something onto his laptop. "I think so. We should probably head to the factory."

The gang nodded their approval.

Suddenly, Odd spoke. "Ok, but wait, where's Vanessa?"

…

Vanessa was on the other side of the gym getting punch. Someone tapped her shoulder.

She turned around.

"Hey Vanessa."

Vanessa smiled. "Hi Colin."

Colin gestured to her dress. "You look really pretty."

"Thanks."

Colin smiled and glanced at the floor. "I was wondering… would you like to dance?"

Vanessa blushed. "I'd love to."

Milly and Tamiya almost instantly appeared by her side. "Vanessa! Could we talk to you for a moment?"

"Um… sure I guess." Vanessa glanced at Colin.

Colin smiled. "I'll be waiting for that dance." He smiled at her one last time and disappeared into the crowd.

Vanessa snapped her attention back to Milly and Tamiya. "Alright. What do you want to know?"

"What do you think of Kadiac so far?"

"It's nice."

"What do you think of the food."

"It's nice."

"What do you think of your brothers friends?"

"They're nice."

"Now, could you please tell us about Aelita's past?"

Odd, Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich, and Jeremie froze. They finally found Vanessa.

This question threw Vanessa off. She shrugged. "I don't know."

Milly and Tamiya looked confused. "Aren't you and Odd siblings?"

"Yes…"

"…And siblings have the same cousins, as you know."

"Right…" Vanessa had no idea where this was going.

"So isn't Aelita your cousin?"

Vanessa looked at them in shock. Odd, Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich, and Jeremie looked at them in shock.

"What?" Vanessa cried.

Milly and Tamiya looked at each other in confusion. "Isn't Aelita Odd's cousin?"

"No." Vanessa shook her head. "What are you talking about?" Vanessa said to the two reporters. "Aelita isn't our cousin. Aelita isn't any way, shape or form related to Odd or me! I haven't ever seen her before a couple of weeks ago!"

Odd finally came to his senses and raced over to his sister. He clamped his hand over her mouth. "Vanessa means she hasn't seen Aelita in a really long time!"

Aelita joined them. "Yeah! And if you could please leave, we have some family issues to attend to!"

Yumi and Ulrich gently nudged the two reporters away.

Vanessa tore Odd's hand away from her mouth. She looked at Odd, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich and Jeremie in shock.

"What, is going on?" Vanessa cried.

No one had an explanation. No one knew what to do.

Yumi stepped up. "Look, Vanessa…"

Vanessa held her hand up. "Don't give me your lies Yumi! I want the truth!"

Vanessa pointed her finger at Aelita. "Aelita, if that is your name, has my brother done anything to hurt you?"

Odd jumped in. "NO! Vanessa you know I'd never do anything like that after,"

"Odd! Why do those two girls think Aelita's our cousin?"

The gang was at a loss for words.

"Does everyone here think Aelita's our cousin?" Vanessa stared at her brother.

Odd didn't know what to say. "Vanessa, I,"

Odd was cut short. A high pitched beeping started amplifying from Vanessa's dress. The lights flickered and so did Vanessa's dress. Beads of electricity sparked from Vanessa. She let out a scream before dropping to the floor.


	19. Chapter 19: Dance Part 2

"Vanessa! Vanessa!" Odd knelt down beside his sister. The music stopped and kids were surrounding them.

Jim emerged from the crowd. "Della Robia! What's going on here?"

Odd looked up at Jim. "I don't know! I think she got electrouted!"

Odd's attention was brought back to Vanessa when she began to move.

"Vanessa? Are you ok?"

Vanessa sat up. "Yes I am fine."

"What happened?" Yumi cried.

Vanessa stood up. "Nothing. I am just in need of some fresh air." She began to walk towards the exit leaving hundreds of kids confused.

"Alright, Alright, break it up everyone!" Jim yelled. The music began playing again and the kids slowly started to dance again.

Aelita, Odd, Yumi, Ulrich, and Jeremie ran after Vanessa. They sprinted out the door and caught up to Vanessa in the court yard.

"Vanessa! Wait!" Odd yelled.

Vanessa turned. Everyone gasped.

The eye of Xana took the place of her pupils.

"It's Xana! Ulrich yelled.

Vanessa snarled and sliced her arm through the air. A wave of electricity was sent out and knocked the gang to the ground. Vanessa turned and then ran at lightning speed towards the factory.

"What does Xana want with Vanessa?" Odd cried.

"It just doesn't make any sense." Jeremie said.

"Oh no!" Aelita yelled. "The dress! The dress that Vanessa was wearing was sent to me! It must have been from Xana!"

"And, Xana used the dress to possess Vanessa…"

"Thinking it was Aelita…"

"So he could bring her to Lyoko and steal her memory!" Jeremie yelled.

The gang took off in a mad dash for the factory, hoping it wasn't too late.

…

Vanessa awoke looking at the sky. It was day time wherever she was, and the sky was a brilliant tangerine color. However, she could not see the sun, or any other thing disturbing the expanse of orange. She slowly sat up to look around, and gasped at what she saw.

Vanessa was in a dessert. An expanse of mahogany sand stretched out before her. Various auburn rocks poked up from the ground stretching high above her head. A few trees spotted the plain, their branches forming strange arches and bending at various angles.

Vanessa stood up to examine herself. Her heels and dress were gone. She wore black heeled boots with lacing up the side. She had on a purple leotard with shiny blue undertones that glimmered. She had on black leggings underneath that disappeared under the rims of her boots. A delicate white belt hung loosely at her waist that looked like snowflakes threaded carefully together. Purple hobo gloves covered her hands and lower arms and delicate purple silk dangled from the bottom of them. A black choker graced her neck, and similar black earrings dangled from her ears. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun and purple flowers were braided into her hair. A white tiara similar to her belt sat on her head with a black pendant in the middle.

Vanessa gasped. Her bangs were gone.

And the scar was too.

The mark that she was forced to hide, was now gone.

A screeching filled the quiet dessert. Vanessa turned and saw a giant jelly fish floating towards her.

"What the hell s that?" Vanessa screamed. She turned and ran.

…

The gang ran into the computer room. Jeremie jumped into his chair and began to type.

"Well? Is she already in?" Yumi asked.

Jeremie bit his lip. "Yes. And she's got company."

…

Vanessa slid behind a rock to catch her breath. She found herself not needing to though. Wherever she was, it appeared that respiration was not necessary.

The screeching returned and once again, Vanessa found herself running across the terrain. She leaped over a rock. It was so strange. In this place, she could run faster without tiring, jump higher and farther without the strain, and when she tripped and fell on her face, she felt no pain.

"Vanessa? Vanessa can you hear me?" A voice rang throughout the desert.

"Jeremie?" Vanessa called out. She could hear a sigh of relief fill the area.

"She's alright you guys." Jeremie's voice sounded further away. Muffled voices responded in relief.

"Where are you guys?" Vanessa yelled. The screeching started again. Vanessa glanced behind her. The jellyfish was getting closer. "Please help me! There's this jelly fish thing chasing me." Vanessa began to run again.

"Ok, listen. You are in a virtual world called Lyoko. That jellyfish thing is called a scyphozoa."

Vanessa leaped over another rock. "Sounds great. What do I do?"

"Have you determined what fighting or defensive abilities you have?" Jeremie asked.

"What? No!" Vanessa screamed. If she wasn't in this situation she would think Jeremie was crazy, but right now he was all she had.

…

"Ok, then keep running!" Jeremie said into the headset. "I'm going to try and bring you back."

Jeremie tried to set up the devirtualization process, but it wasn't working.

"No!" Jeremie yelled.

"What's wrong?" Odd asked.

"Xana bugged the devirtualization process! I can't bring her back!" Jeremie pounded on the key board.

"Send us in." Ulrich said. Yumi was already bringing the elevator up.

Jeremie nodded. He spoke back into the head set. "New plan Vanessa. I'm sending Odd, Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita in for back up."

…

"Please hurry!" Vanessa screamed. Vanessa looked over her shoulder. The scyphozoa was getting closer. Not looking where she was going, Vanessa didn't see the rock in front of her. She tripped and was sent tumbling. She came to a halt on the edge of a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff was an ocean.

"Jeremie, I'm going to jump into that ocean to get away from that monster." Vanessa took a step towards the edge.

"What? No! No! Vanessa, if you do that you will permanently die!"

Vanessa yelped and rolled away from the cliff. Vanessa rolled over into the position she was when she first came here. On her back, looking at the sky. Vanessa gasped. Two giant mosquito things were cornering her at the edge of the cliff. Vanessa slowly stood up and tried to walk away, but they began firing at her. Vanessa gasped and jumped back to avoid the lasers. They pelted the ground in front of her. The mosquito's flew apart to let the scyphozoa through. Vanessa whimpered as the monster got closer. It reached its tentacles out towards her. Instinctively, she kicked them. The mosquito's started to fire again. Vanessa gasped. She was going to be hit. She couldn't go anywhere. Vanessa held her arms in front of her head, in an effort to protect herself. She gasped as a small wall of black and purple shimmering particles formed in front of her, blocking the lasers. The three monsters seemed to be surprised, because they stopped firing. Vanessa put her arms down, and the shield disappeared. Vanessa looked at her hands in awe. She started transmitting energy to her hands when she made fists, and two orbs of black and purple shimmering energy began to form.

Vanessa glanced up at the monsters, having an idea. She held her fist out in the direction of a mosquito, and unclenched her fist. A beam of the energy shot from her hand, and the mosquito exploded.

"Jeremie, I think I just found my fighting and defensive abilities." Vanessa said as she shot at the other mosquito. The bug dodged it and shot at her. Vanessa yelped, expecting to feel pain, but she felt nothing. She shot the bug again and It to, exploded.

"Ok, great. Just hang in there, back up is on its way."

Vanessa fired at the remaining monster, the scyphozoa. It seemed to receive pain from the shot, but it didn't blow up. It screeched and quickly grabbed Vanessa.

Vanessa screamed as it lifted her off the ground. It began to take away her energy, but it suddenly screeched again. It immediately dropped her to the ground. It waved a tentacle over her body, like it was scanning her. It screeched again and began to leave.

"Vanessa!"

Vanessa turned to Odd's voice. He was riding a purple surfboard thing. He jumped off and tackled her in a hug. "Are you ok? Did the jelly fish take your memory?"

Vanessa looked at him in confusion. "I don't think so. Unless you've always been a purple cat."

Vanessa saw Yumi, Ulrich and Aelita coming too. Yumi was riding a flying scooter, wearing a geisha costume, Ulrich was riding a motorcycle, wearing a samurai costume, and Aelita was riding a glowing pink plate, wearing pajamas.

"You guys have some explaining to do." Vanessa said.

…

"And so we needed a cover for Aelita, and that was where the whole cousin thing came into play." Ulrich finished explaining the situation to Vanessa. They were all sitting outside the tower Aelita had just deactivated, waiting for Jeremie to finish fixing the devirtualization process.

"This is, unreal, crazy, stupid, unbelievable, mine-boggling, astonishing, incredible and just plain old weird." Vanessa said.

They all nodded.

"It took us a while to get used to." Yumi said.

"Ok guys, I've set the devirtualization process. I'm bringing you back."

Slowly, Ulrich and Yumi began to fade away. Then Aelita, and then it was just Odd and Vanessa.

"So, are you in?" Odd asked as he faded away.

Vanessa too began to fade away. She could feel herself going lighter and lighter until she was nothing but her DNA. She could see her DNA. And slowly, she began to feel more solid. Her senses returned and so did her body. She was guessing that she was in one of the scanners Ulrich had told her about. The doors opened and she woozily fell out, being caught by Ulrich and Yumi. She looked up to see Odd exiting the scanner across from her.

Vanessa nodded to him. "I'm in."

**Woohoo! Hoped you liked it! I should have the next chapter up by Monday, but I'll be leaving for a camping trip in a bit so after the next chapter you might have to wait a week before I update. Sorry, if I could bring my laptop with me I could! PS. Aelita's Lyoko attire does look like pajamas!**


	20. Chapter 20: The Past

"And my mom was trying to look mad at me, but she couldn't help but laugh." Yumi broke into a fit of laughter at the memory as did everyone else.

Everyone was in Vanessa's dorm room Saturday morning. Yumi sat on Vanessa's bed cross legged as she told them her story. Vanessa was lying down, her feet resting on Yumi's crossed legs. Ulrich was lying on the couch, tossing a soccer ball up into the air. Jeremie sat casually in Candy's desk chair, and Odd and Aelita sat on Candy's bed. Candy wouldn't return until late Sunday, leaving them time to fill Vanessa in on the Lyoko details.

"You know, we all know a lot about each other's families." Said Jeremie. "But we haven't heard much about yours." Jeremie glanced at the two Della Robia's.

Odd scratched his head. "I guess you're right."

Vanessa smiled and stood up on her bed. "Might as well start with the basics." Vanessa reached up to the shelf above her and pulled a large purple book from it. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach. She plopped back down on the bed and opened up the photo album. Ulrich plopped down beside Yumi to get a better view as Jeremie pulled his chair closer. Aelita and Odd plopped down on the floor in front of her.

"Well, this is our main family." Vanessa pointed to a large group of people standing on the beach. They were all bare foot wearing white t shirts and jeans. Everyone gasped. Ten people were in the picture.

"And you live with all of them?" Aelita asked.

Vanessa and Odd both laughed.

"No!" Odd laughed

"Of course not." Vanessa giggled. "That would be crazy."

Odd pointed at two of the older looking boys. "Mark and Travis are in college."

Yumi's mouth dropped. "Yeah, but still! You guys live with six other people!"

"That's why they have a huge mansion." Ulrich snickered.

"And why I go to boarding school." Odd smiled.

Vanessa turned the page. Eight kids stood smiling in front of a pyramid. "These are our siblings and us from when we went to Egypt last year."

Vanessa pointed out Mia. At six years old she was the youngest of them who had a blond pixie cut with a single purple splotch in her hair like Odds.

Vanessa pointed out the twins, Jessie and Laura. They had curly hair that was so blond, it almost looked white. They were twelve years old and the only thing that could be used to tell them apart was that Jessie, the older one by two minutes, had one purple stripe running down the left side of her hair, while Laura had two stripes running down the left side of her hair. Odd pointed out that the twins can be easily identified now that they dress so differently.

Then the gang's eyes were drawn to another girl in the picture.

"She's your sister too?" Jeremie said pointing to the girl in the picture. This question was often brought up. Vanessa nodded. The girls name was Molly. Molly lacked the natural blond hair that all the Della Robia children possessed. Her hair was dirty blond and no purple seemed visible. Odd said that when they were little, he would always tell Molly that she was adopted. But his fun ended when Molly turned ten, because by then a purple streak had formed in the hair above the back of her neck, and when it was down like it was in the photo, no purple was visible. But when she put it up in a pony tail, the purple seemed to dominate the bottom half of her hair. Molly was a year and a half younger than Odd, being thirteen years old.

Their eyes jumped to Odd whose hair was still in its usual spike, but much shorter because his mom had made him get a haircut.

Everyone gasped as their eyes fell upon Vanessa, whose hair was blond and reached down to her waist.

Vanessa quickly pointed to Travis who was nineteen years old and currently in college. He had shaggy surfer blond hair with a thin purple stripe running down the left side of his hair.

Then Vanessa pointed to Mark, who was twenty years old and also in college. Marks hair was a little darker than the rest of the kids, but still lighter than Molly's.

Vanessa turned the page to a picture of the family's golden retriever Lucy, and a picture of Kiwi.

Vanessa turned to a picture of Mrs and Mr Della Robia standing in front of Niagra Falls. Stella Della Robia had curly long blond hair with purple streaks in it. John Della Robia had dirty blond hair, which the gang assumed was passed down to Molly.

Vanessa flipped through pages and pages of pictures, passing cousins, aunts, grandparents, nephews, and friends. She and Odd told them the things they had experienced and the places they had gone. Scuba diving in Mexico, hiking the Himalayas, camping in Europe, swimming in Fiji. Viewing Crocodiles in the new Orleans, getting lost in the catacombs, making fun of the kangaroos in Australia, bunji jumping in Africa, penguin plunging in the arctic and actually swimming with penguins. The family had done amazing things, but Vanessa and Odd both agreed that their favorite times were when the family would just grab their surfboards and plunge into their backyard: the ocean.

Vanessa turned the page and froze. She looked at the two faces giggling and smiling together. Vanessa stared at herself in the picture. It was just a head shot of the two of them. Vanessa wasn't looking at the camera, she was glancing at the boy whom she rested her head on the shoulder of, whose arm was slung around her shoulder lazily. He smiled down at her, unaware that the picture was being taken either. His hair was blond and shaggy, his eyes blue like the sea. Full of kindness and hope.

But Vanessa knew better now.

She wanted to scream at the girl in the photo. To run away while she still could, to save herself before it was too late.

She could remember that day clearly. Vanessa and her friends were at the pier. It was fall and the last day the pier would be open for the year. Vanessa's best friend Lucelle introduced her to Steven, a junior that often surfed with Lucelle's boyfriend. It was love at first sight. They were attached at the hip for the rest of the day talking and getting to know each other. The sun had set and the fireworks began. Vanessa, Steven and their friends sat on the rocks that made up the jetty. Steven and Vanessa made it a game to name the different fireworks that exploded.

"Fire flies!" Steven pointed at an explosion of green that sent glowing sparks flying off in various directions and making various turns as if they were alive.

"Tinsel!" Vanessa said pointing at a burst of gold that flowed down like tinsel.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes at the explosion of pink that sent sparks spinning off into the sky. "I can't think of a name for that one."

Steven scratched his head thoughtfully, and then smiled. He slung an arm around Vanessa and looked down at her. "Love."

Vanessa smiled up at him. Another flash lit their faces up, both unaware that it was from a camera instead of the fireworks until the next day when the picture was on Skyler's facebook page.

As Vanessa fingered the photo she noticed how happy she was back then, before she met Steven and even up until the last month of their relationship when Steven began to change. He got involved into alcohol and would stay out late partying. Soon he wanted Vanessa to do it to. Vanessa denied every drink he offered her and refused to go to the college party's he attended.

Until that one night.

June twenty ninth.

When everything went wrong.

Vanessa was snapped back into reality by Yumi's voice.

"Whose that cutie?" Yumi asked earning a jealous glare from Ulrich.

Vanessa's bottom lip quivered as images of June twenty ninth flashed through her mind.

"Why didn't you get rid of that picture?" Odd murmured.

"I didn't know it was still here." Vanessa whimpered. She gently traced the edge of the picture with her index finger, before plucking the picture from the page and crumpling it up into a ball, and tossing it into the trash can.

Everyone watched Vanessa stare at her feet, small tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Vanessa?" Odd's voice was so soft they could barely hear him. Vanessa lifted her head to see her brother who was on the verge of tears.

"I think it's time you tell them."


	21. Chapter 21: Vanessa

The gang watched in shock as Vanessa lifted up her purple bangs.

A scar ran from the middle of her hair line down to the left of her left eye brow.

They all gasped.

Vanessa let a sorrowful laugh fall from her lips. "Yeah. Candy had the same reaction." She let her bangs flutter back over her left eye and forehead.

"You told Candy?" Odd asked a little surprised. His voice cracked, it brought him a lot of pain to see his sisters scar.

"I had to. She's my roommate. She saw it when I was brushing my hair one morning. I had to tell her the story." Vanessa whimpered as she recalled Candy crying as Vanessa told her the story.

"What story?" Yumi whispered.

Vanessa took a shaky breath. "That picture, was a picture of me and my ex-boyfriend Steven. We met at the pier back in California last fall. I remember thinking that he was my perfect match; we had so much in common. We both loved to surf and play sports. We would play against each other in soccer, lacrosse, basketball, and play football. We both loved to travel and see the world. We both liked to take walks and just goof around. We would play songs randomly and see who could guess the singer fastest. We both loved life." Vanessa took another shaky breath and pulled her knees to her chest. She dropped her head into her knees and tried to keep her tears from flowing.

Odd continued for her. "They were the perfect couple. He was captain of the football team, and she was the captain of her cheer team. Perfect. They were even voted best couple in the school year book." Odd stopped when his sister rose her head and wiped at her tears. She continued telling the story.

"But, near the end of the school year, Steven started to go to college parties with his older brother. That lead to alcohol, which lead to drugs. I told Steven that what he was doing was wrong, and it wasn't good for him. He told me that he was only doing a little drinking, barely smoking any pot, and the parties he went to weren't too wild. And you know what? I believed him. I was so stupid that I actually believed him."

"Around the time school ended, Steven got worse. Whenever we were outside he would be smoking something. He would bring beers with him when we would go on dates, and if he didn't it was because he was taking me to the bar. Soon he started asking me to drink and smoke with him, but I refused. I never drank once in my life and I was going to keep it that way. Steven started to get addicted to the stuff. He would become so aggravated and angry with everyone for no reason. It was like he needed the drugs to stay alive. One time he even broke a car window out of anger. He started acting so cold. Like he hated me. And I missed him. I missed the old Steven. I thought the only way to make him happy was if I do what he wanted me to."

Vanessa rapidly blinked to keep the tears from falling. Odd had pulled his knees to his chest and silently cried into his knees.

Vanessa continued. "Mom and dad were in New York City on a business trip that week, and had left Mark in charge because he was home. But Mark had to leave early, and since are parents would be home the next morning they let us stay home alone without a babysitter that night. They left me in charge. So I decided that night would be the night I go with Steven to a college party."

Vanessa shut her eyes for a moment and held her breath, regaining herself. She breathed out and continued. "And it was fun at first. Steven was so happy, it was like old times. But then he started to drink. And drink. And drink. Until he was so drunk that I made him take me home."

Yumi shuttered. "You didn't let him drive, did you?"

Vanessa shook her head. "We had driven to the party but I wouldn't let him drive so drunk. It was only a short distance to my house." Tears filled Vanessa's eyes.

"And as we walked to my house, I started to realize that I didn't love Steven. I loved the old Steven. The Steven that was goofy sporty and fun. Not drunk, mean and a crack head. So when we got home, I took Steven up to my room away from all the kids where it was private. I was going to break up with him. And I tried, but Steven was so drunk that he didn't understand, and he began to get mad."

Vanessa took another shaky breath and began to tell them the terrible thing that happened next.

"_Steven, I'm sorry but I don't think we can be together anymore." Vanessa sat next to Steven on the couch in her room._

_Steven smirked. "Com on babe, stop jokin 'round." Steven fingered the strap of her lilac dress, slowly shoving it off her shoulder and down her arm._

_Vanessa slapped his hand away. "Steven I'm serious. Stop this right now. You need to leave."_

_Steven smirked again and pushed her back into the couch. He pressed his lips against hers and started to push the straps of her dress further down her arms. He shoved her back so she was lying down, his weight crushing her._

"_Steven! Stop it!" She screamed trying to push him off her. His lips retreated and he slapped her across the face. His mouth returned and a hand slipped under her dress._

"_Stop it!" She screamed and kicked him in the shin._

_Steven growled and stood. He grabbed her by her long curls of soft golden hair. With a forceful tug he yanked her off the couch. She let out a shrill scream and threw her fist at his chest._

"_You bitch!" He yelled and adjusted his grip on her hair so that he was gripping the tresses and her scalp. He swung her and smashed her head into the glass coffee table, like she was nothing more than a rag doll. Again he smashed her face into the glass. Bang. Bang. Bang. _

_The table shattered and sparkly shards of glass went everywhere. Crimson dripped from her face onto the white carpet staining it red. Too weak to fight, she lay helplessly as Steven repeatedly kicked her until she was choking up blood._

_Steven stopped when he heard the kids yelling from down stairs. "What the hell is going on up there?" Odd yelled up the stairwell. A moment later Steven dashed past him shoving him a side and running through the front door._

_Vanessa lay on the carpet. She was covered in cuts and bruises and could hardly breathe. She brought her hand to her head to feel something strange poking into her forehead. A shard of glass. Blood filled her vision for she could no longer breathe._

_Odd ran into his sister's room and gasped. Glass was everywhere and blood was on the carpet. The couch was knocked over and there was dirt speckled on the carpet from the broken flour vase destroyed in the struggle._

_Odd gasped when he saw his sister lying limp on the floor. Her blond curls were spread out on the floor and her face was pressed into the carpet. Her pale purple dress was stained with blood, both her own, and the blood of __Steven, for she had put up a fight, knocking one of his teeth out._

_Odd ran to Vanessa and dropped to his knees beside her. He pulled her head into his lap and rolled her face over. Her flawless face was now covered in blood. Blood drizzled down from her nose and poured from her mouth. A deep gash marked her forehead with a blade of glass deeply embedded in her skin._

_"Molly! Call 911!" Odd screamed to his younger sister. The dirty blond that was standing in the door frame nodded and ran down the hallway._

_Odd silently prayed to the lord for help, and began CPR._

Vanessa looked up from her knees at her friends. Yumi was covering her mouth, eyes red and tears flooding down her face. Ulrich was holding Yumi, his eyes full of shock and red, a tear trickled down his cheek.

Jeremie sat in shock, staring at the floor, eyes brimmed with tears.

Aelita's face wasn't visible. She had her head buried in her knees, shaking and sobbing.

And then her eyes fell on Odd. Her brother who had not only saved her life, but kept her loving it too.

Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he sat silently staring at the floor. His eyes met Vanessa and they both lost it. They began sobbing as Odd stood and hugged his sister.

"I'm sorry. I should of gone up when I heard you yelling." Odd sobbed.

Vanessa shook her head. "I'm alive. And it's all because of you. I could of, would have, died if you didn't come up the time you did."

"He could of raped you." Odd sobbed.

"But he didn't. Because you came up at the time you did."

Soon the entire group was in the hug, sharing their pain and healing them.

Because that's what friends do.

Because that's what family do.


	22. Chapter 22: Silver Lining

**Hey everybody! Please review! I'll take all suggestions into account!**

**And I want to make a point about last chapter. Abuse is wrong. It is completely scummy and I believe it to be the worst sin. Although alcohol can be fun at times, it can go terribly wrong if abused. Driving while drunk is basically suicide, you can kill other people as well. I lost several family members to alcohol and drugs. They started out thinking they wouldn't get addicted, but soon all they cared about was their drugs and alcohol. I also lost a friend. She was driving home one night when a drunk driver crashed into her. She did not make it. So please. Stay away from that stuff and just don't do it. It will waste your life and others too. If you are an addict get help, before your life is completely wasted or another is. Stop drunk driving. Stop drugs. Stop abuse.**

After Vanessa told them her story, the gang shakily went about their mornings business. It wasn't uncommon for one of them to burst into tears at a random point in the morning, excusing themselves to their rooms where they would lock their doors and cry.

Yumi was the worst. She had built a strong bond with Vanessa the week that they had been together, and to know that her friend had experienced so much pain killed her. She was protective of her friends. Even going as far as to punch a boy last year that was making fun of Aelita.

But something did bring their spirits up.

Vanessa.

Vanessa kept her head high and refused to shed another tear after her embrace with Odd. She figured that her experience was just an obstacle, put in her path of life to train her and teach her. She was a strong girl. Not just physically, but mentally. Vanessa truly believed that God chose her to experience that horrific event for a reason. So that maybe later in life she would be prepared for something else. Something that was beyond her power of knowledge. God chose her because she had a strong heart, and could take the pain that was thrown at her. If Vanessa didn't take it, maybe another being would and die from the pain.

That's what she told her friends. They watched her in awe, she was like a goddess. Being so selfless and thoughtful of others and not containing a strand of self pity.

Around lunch time the gang had mostly recovered. They were still a bit shaken but Vanessa's smile kept them going. Something else made their day ten times better.

"Urg!" Sissi screamed as she stomped into the cafeteria. She scanned the sets of eyes until she found a set of purple, black eye lines eyes.

Sissi stomped over to Vanessa's table and slammed her fists down on the table top.

"You thief!" Sissi yelled.

Vanessa looked at her, confusion in her eyes.

"How dare you steal my spot as Co-caption!"

Still confused, Vanessa looked at Sissi with a puzzled expression. Sissi gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Vanessa's wrist and tugged her out of the cafeteria. The others quickly followed.

Sissi yanked Vanessa toward a crowd of girls surrounding the gym doors. Sissi pulled Vanessa through the crowd and pushed her towards the flyer taped to the door. The list of cheerleader's that made the sophomore cheer team.

Vanessa started from the top.

_Sophomore cheer team_

_Caption: Kylie Spraig_

_Co-Caption: Vanessa Della Robia_

Vanessa froze. She had made the team. And was Co-Caption.

Yumi, Aelita, Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie broke through the crowd.

Odd scanned the list and smiled. "Alright V! You made Co-Caption!"

Sissi stomped her foot. "Yeah! She stole it from me!"

Suddenly, the crowd cleared to let Kylie, Cindy and Samantha through.

"She didn't steal anything." Kylie said calmly. Her icy blue eyes narrowed at Sissi. "The coaches and I just thought it would be better if someone with a little more experience than you was Co-Caption."

Sissi clenched her fists. "That's not fair!" She screamed.

Kylie rolled her eyes. "Be happy that you even made the team Elizabeth. The only reason you did is because your dad is principle."

Sissi's mouth dropped open. She gaped at Kylie before narrowing her eyes and running off to her dorm.

Kylie rolled her eyes once again before returning to Vanessa. "Congrats Vanessa."

Kylie and her crew turned and were about to walk off when Yumi caught her eye. "You to Yumi." With that, Kylie and her crew left.

Yumi gasped and scanned the list.

_Connie Anderson_

_Lonnie Anderson_

_Cindy Ashwood_

_Elizabeth Delmas_

_Caramella Estavoz_

"Candy made it too." Yumi said before continuing to read.

_Stephanie Francis_

_Samantha Honders_

_Yumi Ishiama_

Yumi gasped. She wasn't sure whether to be excited or horrified.

...

Later that day, Vanessa, Odd, and Aelita were in Vanessa's room speaking to Milly and Tamiya.

They knew that they would have to clear things up eventually with the two reporters, so Vanessa thought up a story.

"Amazing!" Said Milly. "So Aelita isn't directly related to you two? She's just a close family friend?"

Vanessa nodded. "We've known Aelita since birth. Aelita and her mom, and Odd and our mom shared the same room after they were born. She's been like family ever since."

Aelita nodded. "But before last week, I hadn't seen Vanessa in over a year."

Vanessa also nodded and threw her arm around Aelita. "It was a nice little family reunion."

Milly shook her head in disbelief. "I never would have figured that out." Milly then had a mischievous grin on her face. She shoved her microphone towards Odd and Aelita. "Since you two really aren't related, would you mind telling our viewers about any possible romantic relationship you two have?"

Odd and Aelita blushed. Aelita nervously played with the necklace Odd had given her.

Like the good big sister Vanessa was, she dismissed the two reporters and shoved them out of the room.

…

Later that night, Ulrich lay restlessly in his bed. He stared up at the top bunk's under side, annoyed at Odd once again for stealing the top of the bunk bed. But then he realized that it wasn't so bad, it was nice to just plop into bed without having to climb up to the top.

Ulrich suddenly had a strange urge to take a walk.

Figuring that he wasn't getting any sleep any ways, he rolled out of bed and opened his closet. Ulrich pulled on some black sweat pants and a green T-shirt before slipping out the door. He glanced down the hallway, and seeing that the cost was clear, walked down the stairs and out the front doors of the academy. He walked across the green grass and towards the gates. Soon he was walking down the street, amazed at how easy it was to get out. Jim must have fell asleep on duty or something, he figured.

Ulrich glanced at the sky. The stars twinkled in the distance and the moon lit the earth, allowing him to see his way down the street until he got to the busier part, where street lights decorated the road side.

He was the only one around though. Ulrich glanced at the giant clock tower. 12:35 am.

Ulrich would be in a lot of trouble if he was caught out of his dorm this late.

Ulrich continued aimlessly walking through town. His feet naturally came to a halt and he looked up to see where his feet had taken him.

Yumi's house.

The house was completely dark. Ulrich was about to turn back when he noticed a soft glow coming from the side of the house. Ulrich realized it was coming from Yumi's window. He walked around the side of the house.

A figure stood on Yumi's balcony, leaning against the rail and looking up at the sky.

Ulrich smirked and began walking towards the cherry tree.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked.

Yumi glanced down at Ulrich. She didn't feel surprised that he was here. She could feel his presence before she saw him.

Yumi sighed. "Nope."

Ulrich started climbing the tree up to her balcony. He had done this before so he knew what branches to avoid. "Me neither."

Ulrich climbed over the rail and stood beside Yumi, watching the stars with her.

Yumi turned towards him. He was so much taller than her. "You're taller than me." She said.

Ulrich smirked. "You just figured that out?" He turned towards her. He tried to restrain his jaw from dropping. Yumi was wearing a black sleeveless silk nightgown. It cut off about mid thigh. Her beautiful long legs stretched down to the wood planks which she stood barefoot on. Her skin was radiating in the moon light, like marble. The dress hugged her curves and lightly fluttered in the summer breeze.

Embarrassed at being so exposed, Yumi wrapped her arms around herself. Then Ulrich did something so foreword, it shocked both of them.

He took her hands, unfolding her arms from her body.

"Yumi, you're beautiful. The most beautiful being I've ever seen. Don't ever hide from me."

Yumi gasped lightly. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

Ulrich lightly dropped her hands. He gently brought a hand to her cheek. She leaned into his touch, enjoying the warmth from his hand and the tingle of energy from his touch. Yumi leaned her back against the railing for support. She shuttered in pleasure as his hand lightly rolled down her cheek and his fingers danced over her neck. He brushed his fingers over her collarbone and let his hand glide over her shoulder, gently descending down her arm, wanting to feel every inch of her cool skin. He let his hand rest at her hip while the other hand grazed her legs, feeling the tingle of energy between her and him. His hand gently began its climb back over her hip, hand sliding on the silk at the curve of her waist and stopping just below her chest. He waited for her disapproval, but hearing none let his hand venture higher grazing her breast earning a moan from Yumi.

His hand finally came to a halt at her chin, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Yumi blissfully opened her eyes, their sapphire color adding to her radiance. She was so close to him. She could feel his hot breath at her neck. Her legs were against his as she leaned against the railing. His hand still rested on her hip, as did the other one on her cheek. Her sapphire eyes gazed into his warm chocolate ones.

Ulrich's eyes fell on her lips. Lips that he had come so close to kissing at least one hundred times, but a distraction would always interrupt them. But not now. They were alone at midnight on her balcony.

Ulrich slowly began to lean towards her. Yumi's heart fluttered in anticipation as she felt his hot breath at her mouth.

And then…

And then finally…

His lips met hers. After so many tries, they were finally kissing.

Yumi's eyes fluttered closed as she sighed heavenly into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around Ulrich's neck, bringing them closer. Yumi felt Ulrich's hand move to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him so that they were pressed together. She could feel his abs through the thin material of their clothes, and could feel his heart beat as he could feel hers. Their hearts beat together in sync, beating together as one.

And as they stood there, kissing each other like their lives depended on it, Yumi realized something.

She was in love.

**Please review! Right now! The buttons right there! Right below this!**


	23. Chapter 23: Want

**Hey everyone! I want to thank all of my readers and especially the ones that review my story. I might have given up on my story if it weren't for the reviews! I'd especially like to thank bluepatch, KairiAngel13, ****EccentricSuperchick****, and ****code ninjahinja**** who have been following my story since the start. Thanks everyone!**

The week dragged on slow. Jeremie spent most of his time trying to find the antivirus; he had never stopped looking even after his quarrel with Aelita. Odd and Aelita spent the spare time they had together, building their relationship.

You would think things would be better than ever for Ulrich and Yumi.

But they were not.

After their kiss Yumi had avoided Ulrich. Leaving him confused and hurt.

The gang trained Vanessa. She was an honorary Lyoko warrior now, and she would often go to Lyoko daily to train. She would practice fighting Ulrich and Odd on the Lyoko terrain, her agility faster and her strength stronger. Yumi didn't come to their daily practices.

Thursday after school, everyone but Yumi headed to the factory for their daily training.

Vanessa virtualized and hung in the air for a brief moment, before falling down onto the icy land. She landed on her feet, something that had been a challenge for her. She heard three other thumps and turned to see Ulrich, Odd and Aelita admiring her landing.

"Ok, who's going first? I'm watching for any Xana activity and it looks like we're good for now." Jeremie's voice rang out through the digital sky. Xana had attacked once during their training session that week and Odd was quick to shoot Vanessa with a laser arrow, devirtualizing her and putting her out of harm's way before she could protest.

"I want to train." Vanessa said. She knew that the other didn't trust her fighting Xana yet and she wanted to prove them wrong.

"I'll train to." Ulrich said as he pulled out his katana and faced Vanessa.

"Ok. Try not to devirtualize each other." Jeremie said.

Odd huffed. Yumi wasn't here and he couldn't fight Aelita since she was powerless. He grabbed Aelita's hand.

"Aelita and I are going to go explore." He and Aelita began walking towards the nearby waterfall.

Vanessa watched them leave then turned to Ulrich. She yelped and jumped out of the way, narrowly missing Ulrich's attack.

"Hey? What gives?" Vanessa shouted. "A little warning next time!"

Ulrich smirked. "Xana never warns us when he attacks. I'm just preparing you." Ulrich started super sprinting towards Vanessa.

Vanessa clenched her fists and pointed them at Ulrich. Two orbs of black and purple energy formed. She unclenched her fists, aiming her palms at Ulrich, and a beam of the energy hot from each palm.

Ulrich slid under the beam of energy and slid into Vanessa's feet, knocking her off balance. Vanessa stumbled foreword, but kept from falling by doing a front walk over. Ulrich smirked as he stood up. Vanessa fought like Yumi. Using her gymnastics to her advantage.

Vanessa turned back to Ulrich and formed the black orbs around her fists, but she didn't fire at him. Instead, she let the energy from her fist orbs travel up her arms to her elbows, as if they were long gloves.

Ulrich pulled his katana out and ran towards Vanessa. He tried to slice her wrist, because it would only cause her to lose a few life points, but the blade would not cut through the black and purple energy that covered her arms, it was like armor.

Again and again Ulrich would try to get his katana on her, but she kept blocking it with her arms. When Vanessa tried to jab at him, he blocked her fists with his katana.

Ulrich smirked as he blocked another punch. "You're getting better."

Vanessa quickly took a jab at his stomach, it connected, and he was sent sprawling backwards. Vanessa quickly jumped on top of him, pinning his arms to the ice.

She smirked. "I'm almost as good as Yumi."

Ulrich frowned and gently nudged her off of him. He walked over to a chunk of ice and sat down.

Vanessa sat next to him.

"She's been upset about something. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling you know." Vanessa pulled her knees to her chest. She realized that she was panting out of habit. She quickly stopped breathing once she remembered that it wasn't necessary here.

Ulrich sighed. "I have a pretty good idea."

"Mind sharing?"

Ulrich scratched the back of his head and blushed. "Remember the day when the cheerleading list was posted.

Vanessa nodded.

"Well, that night I went to Yumi's house. And she was out on her balcony so I climbed up."

"Weird, but ok." Vanessa smirked.

Ulrich shook his head and a small smile crept on his face. "It wasn't weird for us. I do that a lot."

Vanessa shrugged. "Continue."

"So we were talking and I just got caught up in the moment, and I, i…"

Vanessa stood. "Out with it boy!"

"… I kissed her." Ulrich looked down embarrassed, expecting her to laugh. He felt a sharp pang in his upper arm and looked up.

Vanessa drew her fist back, a smile on her face. "It's about god damn time!"

Ulrich looked at her in awe. "You knew I liked her?"

Vanessa laughed. "Odd and I are a lot closer than we act." She said with a wink. Ulrich made a mental note to kill Odd later.

"And now she's all upset. I don't know why." Ulrich fell on his back on the ice. He stared up at the digital sky in frustration.

Vanessa sat back down and thoughtfully held her hand against her cheek. "When you kissed her, did you force it upon her? Like did she seem scared?"

Ulrich shook his head. "She kissed me back."

Vanessa thought for a few moments. She sighed. "I think Yumi's just confused right now. She doesn't know whether she likes you as a friend or more. The kiss probably won't make matters better."

Ulrich groaned. "Great. This is all my fault."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Hardly. From what Odd tells me and what I've seen, you two probably needed that kiss to make things change. For better or for worse."

Ulrich rubbed his head. He couldn't believe that he was spilling his heart out to his best friend's sister. "I think I love her."

Vanessa shrugged and studied her nails. "Then tell her that."

Ulrich shot up. "I can't!"

"Why not? It's easy."

"It's not that simple." Ulrich shouted.

"Sure it is." Vanessa stood up, her height matching Ulrich's. "It's just three words."

"I can't, I…"

Ulrich grasped his shoulders. "Ulrich. Just three simple words. I. Love. You"

"Whoa! What's going on here?" Odd asked smirking. He and Aelita were returning from behind the water fall, and had only caught the last part of Vanessa's rant.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and let go of Ulrich's shoulders. Vanessa placed her hands firmly on her hips. "And what was going on behind that water fall?"

Odd and Aelita both blushed.

"Yeah. Uh huh. That's what I thought." Vanessa marched away in no particular direction.

Aelita smiled at everyone's uneasy state. "Jeremie, I think it's time you bring us on home."

Jeremie smiled into the head set. "No problem." He started Odd, Ulrich and Vanessa's devirtualization process.

Aelita entered the tower that stood very close to their current location.

…

As they all made their way across the bridge, they saw a figure sitting near the man hole they usually went through.

It was Yumi.

Yumi stood when she saw her approaching friends. "Hey Vanessa. You left your text book in science." She handed Vanessa the book and then turned to walk towards the city.

"Yumi, where are you going?" Aelita asked.

Yumi glanced over her shoulder. "Home."

Suddenly Ulrich stepped forward. "Yumi, wait. We need to talk."

Yumi turned and kept walking. "There's nothing to say."

Ulrich grabbed her wrist. "Yumi please!"

Yumi yanked her hand from him and turned to face him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks."What?"

"Why are you so upset?" Ulrich yelled. "What is wrong?"

Yumi threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't know! You just… I don't know! Ok? I can't… I don't want to… I don't even know!" Yumi screamed. "You have me so confused!"

Ulrich's face softened. He gently brought a hand to her cheek, wiping away her tears. Yumi leaned into his touch, his being comforting her. This upset her more and made her more confused. She tore away.

"I'm sorry Ulrich. I just can't…" Yumi looked into his warm brown eyes and couldn't finish. They were so comforting and relaxing, so full of love…

Yumi turned and ran across the street. Dodging several cars and disappearing around the corner.

Ulrich slumped to the ground. He didn't understand.

…

Later that night

Yumi sobbed into her pillow. Her emotions were so conflicted right now.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Yumi muffled a scream into her pillow. A buzzing shook her night stand. Yumi reached for her cell phone. It was a text.

_Emergency! Meet at the factory in ten minutes! Everyone's on their way._

_-Odd_

Yumi groaned and punched her pillow. Just what she needed, a Xana attack. Yumi quickly stood and went to her mirror, quickly wiping tears from her cheeks. Then she went out to her balcony and leaped down, hitting the sot grass before dashing for the factory.

…

Ulrich sat in the park alone. Odd had tried to cheer him up, but his efforts failed. Ulrich's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text.

_Emergency! Meet at the factory ASAP. Everyone else is on their way!_

_-Odd_

Ulrich moaned and stood before running towards the factory.

Neither teen realized that the text wasn't from Odd. Odd and Aelita had gone neon lights miny golfing. The super computer sat silent, no Xana attacks what so ever.

But several floors above the computer a teen sat patiently. He checked his cell phone once again, and was delighted to see that his prey was walking right into his trap.

_K Odd, b there in a sec _from Ulrich

_B there as soon as I can, might take a while _from Yumi.

The teen smirked and continued to notch the cement with the sharp blade of a knife gripped purposefully in his hand. A gentle pre fall breeze swept through the old abandon factory, blowing the teen's black bangs out of his crazed eyes.


	24. Chapter 24: Need

**Hi guys! I'm going camping today through Sunday so I won't be able to post for 4 more days! I'm so sorry! I'll post as soon as I get back! Lol I left you on a clift hanger. **

Ulrich had to run through the school yard to get to the factory. He dashed passed Sissi and slowly came to a halt when he saw Vanessa, sitting quietly reading under a tree.

"Hey, are you heading to the factory?" Ulrich asked.

Vanessa looked up from her book. "What?"

"Emergency. We're under attack by Xana." Ulrich said glancing around, looking for any signs of something out of the ordinary.

"Really? I didn't see anything." Vanessa also looked around. "No one even told me."

Ulrich looked at her funny. "Didn't you get the memo from Odd?"

Vanessa looked at him confused. She thought Aelita and Odd went miny golfing. "No." She stood and began to walk towards the factory. Ulrich grabbed her arm.

Ulrich bit his lip. He knew Vanessa wouldn't like this. "Maybe you should hang back."

Vanessa's eye brows shot up. "What? Why?"

Ulrich rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Well if Odd didn't tell you, then maybe he didn't think it was safe enough for you to go."

Vanessa angrily glared at Ulrich. "My _little_ brother doesn't think it's safe for his _older_ sister to go on a mission, but it's safe enough for him?"

Ulrich held his hands up in defense. "Hey. That's Odd's problem, not mine. You should seriously hang back though."

Vanessa clenched her fists. "You guys don't think I'm good enough to fight Xana, do you?"

Ulrich shook his head. "No, you defiantly have what it takes to fight Xana, I've seen you train. But we usually do have someone hang back and patrol the school."

Vanessa relaxed a little. "Fine."

Ulrich waved and began to dash towards the factory.

Little did they know that they were being watched by a certain red head.

Little did they know that what was about to happen would change their lives forever.

Little did they know that this time, someone would not come back to Kadiac.


	25. Chapter 25: Turbulence Part 1

**Hey everyone! The camping trip rocked and I had a lot of fun. Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! WARNING: EXTREME VIOLENCE AND AWESOMENESS IN THIS CHAPTER!**

Everything was quiet as Ulrich ran across the bridge. The only sound was the pounding of his feet on the pavement, and the distant grumbling of thunder. He walked into the factory and stopped at the ledge. Everything was so quiet. Ulrich took an easy leap and grabbed a hold of one of the many ropes dangling from the ceiling and slid down it.

Ulrich landed with a soft thud. He stood and looked around. The factory felt so still, so quiet. He strained his ears to hear his friends in the computer lab below, but heard nothing. Ulrich shrugged and began walking towards the elevator.

Then he froze. He had heard the shift of denim against the concrete. Ulrich turned in the direction t had come from.

"Odd, you better not be messing with me." Ulrich said into the blackness. Outside, the sky was becoming dark as the clouds rolled over the factory.

Ulrich heard a soft chuckle echoing from the walls of the factory. He rotated in fear, unaware of where the laughter had come from. He did know however, that the laughter did not come from Odd.

Footsteps approached him. Ulrich turned towards the intruder and squinted to see. Finally, Ulrich could make out the form of the person, but could not identify who it was. A flash of lightning tore through the sky, and Ulrich gasped.

William.

"William, what are you doing here?" Ulrich said as he strained to see William. His eyes were adjusting.

William laughed again. Another flash of lightning. Ulrich saw the crazed look in his eyes, and William pulling something from behind his back. Outside, the rain began to poor.

Ulrich strained to see what it was. He caught a little glimmer of white reflecting off the surface of whatever William was hiding.

A knife.

Ulrich gaped and began to back away. William approached him.

"William, what do you think you're doing?" Ulrich yelled. He thought that William might be possessed by Xana.

"You stole Yumi from me." William growled.

Nope. William wasn't possessed.

"And now, I'm going to claim what's rightfully mine." William rose the knife.

Ulrich quickly brought his foot around and slammed it into William's side. William yelped in surprise, but quickly got mad and drove the knife at Ulrich.

Ulrich grabbed Williams arms, the knife inches from his face. He twisted Williams arm, making him drop the knife. Then Ulrich swept Williams feet out from under him and watched as William fell to the ground.

William grasped the knife and jabbed at Ulrich's foot.

Ulrich leapt back and grabbed his foot in pain. The knife had stabbed right through the sneaker and into his flesh.

William stood and ran at Ulrich with the knife. Ulrich didn't notice until William was too close for him to do anything. Ulrich closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

He heard a bump,

Then a bang,

Then a yelp.

Ulrich opened his eyes.

Yumi was rolling around the ground with William wrestling for the knife. Yumi knocked the knife away and it clattered a few feet away. William managed to flip her off of him, and switch their positions. He pinned her hands to the ground.

William leaned down and pressed his face into her neck. "When I'm done with Ulrich, you're going to be all mine."

Suddenly, William was thrown from Yumi. Ulrich had knocked him off of her. Ulrich bent down next to Yumi.

"Are you hurt?" He asked her.

Yumi nodded her head as she bit her lip. There was a sharp pain in her back. She had after all, jumped twenty feet down from the entrance onto William.

Ulrich nodded his head before glancing at William. William was now standing and looking at them with anger. Ulrich tried to stand but the pain in his foot returned, sending a shock of pain up his leg. He couldn't get up.

The two of the watched in horror as William charged at Ulrich once again.

There was a streak of purple, a bang and a clattering of the knife.

Vanessa.

Vanessa had thrown herself off the ledge, and landed on William. She rolled off of him onto her back and tried to catch her breath.

William held his head. "How many times am I going to have a person tackle me from the air?"

Vanessa stood. "As many times it takes to beat your sorry ass." With that, Vanessa leapt at William and tackled him again. She stood and sent a kick to his jaw, but he grabbed her ankle and twisted it.

Vanessa screamed out in pain and fell to the floor. William knelt down next to her.

"I'll deal with you later." William stood and turned to Ulrich. Ulrich had crawled away from Yumi and was reaching towards a loose bar, in hopes of using it as a weapon against William.

William kicked the bar away.

Vanessa clenched her fists as memories filled her mind. Steven beating her. Steven almost killing her.

Vanessa was brought back from her memories by the shrill scream of Yumi. Ulrich lay sprawled on the floor face down. Yumi crouched in the corner crying and screaming. William pulled the knife from his pocket and raised it high above Ulrich.

_No._

_No._

_No._

"No!" Yumi sprang at William, her hands reaching for the knife. She toppled over on top of him and the knife flew from his grasp. It clattered to the ground a few feet away. William pushed Yumi off of him and moved to retrieve the knife. Yumi grabbed his ankle and held on for dear life. William tried to shake her off, but she dug her nails into his flesh, refusing to let go. William cried out in pain and kicked her with his free foot, hard. Yumi rolled over and hit the wall with a soft thud. She lay face down. William grabbed the knife and a fistful of her hair and yanked up. Her eyes were closed and blood dribbled down from her nose. She was unconscious. William slammed her skull back into the cement. _Bang._ William yanked her head up again and pounded it into the cement once more. And again. And again. _Bang. Bang. Bang._

What happened next Vanessa couldn't bear to believe.

As much as she tried to deny it, tried to believe that her eyes were playing tricks on her, nothing could explain what happened.

Except the words. "He stabbed her"

William withdrew the knife from Yumi's shoulder, and raised the knife again aiming for her chest.

Images of Steven flashed before Vanessa's eyes and Vanessa filled with rage. She sprang from the ground and ran at William. The next thing she knew she was on top of him. She smashed his head to the ground and the knife flew from his hands, clattering a few feet away.

Her fist collided with his face. He was quick to react and threw her off of him. She rolled back onto her feet and sent a kick towards Williams head. He leaned to his left, narrowly missing her foot, before sending a punch towards her face. Vanessa ducked and kicked his feet out from under him.

Vanessa glanced over at Yumi who lay very still in a pool of blood that was quickly expanding. Vanessa turned back to William but it was too late. William's foot crashed into the side of her skull. She heard a sickening crack and toppled over. Her vision went blurry as she fought to regain her senses. Vanessa franticly kicked the air from where she lay trying to make contact with William. She hit something hard and heard William yelp. He grabbed his shin in pain and didn't notice Ulrich slowly regaining consciousness behind him.

Vanessa wobbly stood. Dizziness pained her vision and she gasped when William kicked her in the stomach. Vanessa crashed into the wall and laid sprawled on the floor watching her attacker pick up the knife. She tried to sit up but was too weak, and she helplessly leaned against the wall, watching William approach her over the tips of her knees.

William laughed as he neared her. "Not so high and mighty now? Eh?" Vanessa remained silent.

Vanessa tried to even out her breaths. When you are in a position of life or death you need to stay calm. She had taken self defense lessons. She had been put into practice situations like this before, but she was scared. She focused on his eyes. She searched for anything in his eyes that would give away his weakness; she needed to find the one thing that she could use to connect with William, to reason with him. Under all the anger Vanessa found what she was looking for.

Heart break.

Yumi didn't love William. His heart had been stomped on by the one person that mattered the most to him.

"William you need to stop." Vanessa breathed. William didn't even seem to hear her. He grabbed her long hair and yanked up. She cringed as her head was pulled back, and shuttered as she felt the cool metal of the blade touch her throat.

"I know you're upset about Yumi, but please William, just hear me out." Vanessa didn't dare open her eyes for fear of what she might see. A single tear still managed to escape down her cheek. The blade remained at her throat but William loosened his grip on her hair. She continued. "Killing Ulrich, or me for that matter, won't make Yumi love you."

They stood still like that for a moment. William holding the knife to her throat, Vanessa leaning against the wall with her eyes shut. She was vaguely aware of the large gash in the side of her head and the blood that flowed from it.

"But I know how it feels, to be hurt like you are." Vanessa said. William let go of her hair and she felt the knife withdrawn from her throat. Vanessa fell to the ground, unable to stand anymore. She opened one of her eyes cautiously.

"Yeah right!" He yelled angrily. William kept the knife pointed towards Vanessa to make sure she wouldn't try anything. "You have no idea what it's like to have the person you love rip your heart out!"

Vanessa pulled her knees closer to her chest. The normal act that would go unnoticed by an attacker protected her chest and throat. She glanced at Yumi who was losing more blood by the second. "Actually, in a way I do. My ex boyfriend and I used to be inseparable. I thought I loved him until he… well…" Instead of telling him, Vanessa showed him. She lifted up her purple bangs revealing the ugly red scar that ran from her eye up to her hair line. A look of pity quickly shot across Williams face, but not quick enough for Vanessa to miss it. She dropped her bangs allowing them to flutter back down over her scarred eye.

"He ruined my life, William. And unless we get Yumi some help right now, her life will be ruined too. Or, she might not even have a life left." Vanessa pleadingly looked up at William. She could see the wheels turning in his head, she could see the words 'ok' forming on his tongue, and just when she thought he was going to give in, he snapped.

"No!" William screamed. "No! No! No!" He grabbed at his hair, tearing, looking for something to take his confusion and anger out on. Unfortunately that would be Vanessa.

And as he raised the knife Vanessa knew that it was hopeless. All traces of human sanity had escaped from William. All that was left of him was a hollow shell of who he once was made up of anger. Yumi was dying, Ulrich would be next, and she would be killed.

Vanessa was going to die.

Maybe it was an old powerful impulse of survival or the adrenalin that she had built up, but suddenly a jolt of power mixed with rage exploded within Vanessa, within her heart. A feeling of wrath flooded Vanessa as William stood above her and raised the knife, for all she saw was Steven. Steven lifting the knife, Stevens's pupils dilating, Stevens's mouth flicking into a smirk, the knife in Stevens fist rushing towards her.

It was like an instinct.

She kicked.

Her foot collided with William's fist.

The fist that held the knife mere inches from her head.

The knife flew high in the air glistening like a snow flake, before clattering to the ground a few feet away.

She pulled both her feet back, and drove them into William's chest with so much power that he actually flew though the air and smashed into the opposite wall unconscious.

She jumped up before running to Yumi.

Vanessa knelt down beside Yumi to inspect the damage. A tiny flicker of hope burned in Vanessa.

"Yumi?"

Yumi did not move.

Tears stung Vanessa's cheeks. Carefully, Vanessa turned Yumi over and held Yumi's head in her hands. Blood poured from Yumi's shoulder onto Vanessa's jeans but Vanessa didn't care.

Vanessa wiped the blood from Yumi's nose and carefully felt Yumi's head. She couldn't be sure, but Yumi's skull was probably broken. Ulrich had gained back complete consciousness and crawled over to them.

"Please Yumi." Vanessa whispered.

No response.

"Please Yumi." Ulrich gently pushed a lock of hair away from Yumi's face. A tear escaped down his cheek.

Vanessa held her hand above Yumi's mouth and nose, trying to feel any intake of air or any signs of breathing.

Nothing.

Yumi wasn't breathing.

Anger filled Vanessa. She turned towards William who was regaining consciousness. Vanessa turned back to Ulrich. "Ulrich, get out of here to safety. Go call 911." Ulrich nodded and carefully picked up Yumi's lifeless body. He ran up the steps and out of the factory gently cradling Yumi in his arms.

Vanessa stood and walked towards the knife. She picked up the knife. She looked at her reflection in its shiny blade. The gash in the side of her head still spewed out blood. Vanessa was a little surprised that she hadn't passed out from the massive loss of blood, but she continued towards William who sat shaking against the wall.

Vanessa grabbed his throat and lifted him up and off his feet. William dangled from her fist and tried to kick her. She smashed his head into the wall. He struggled but Vanessa was too strong, too angry. He helplessly dangled as Vanessa raised the knife, aiming at his chest.

The large factory quickly echoed with a "tsk tsk" Vanessa did not have to turn around to know who it was.

"Get out of here." Vanessa hissed through clenched teeth. "It's too dangerous. William might hurt you to."

"I am not worried about William hurting me." The Hispanic girl said from the balcony. "It looks like you have things under control."

"That's right now go!" Vanessa tightened her grip on William's throat.

"Why? So you may proceed to kill William?" Candy rolled her r's like she usually did.

"Actually, yes. Now go!" Vanessa raised the knife again.

"Vanessa, you have to stop right now and think." Candy slid down the ropes and started walking towards Vanessa and William. Vanessa tightened her fist around William's neck and pointed the knife at Candy. "Stay back!"

Candy continued walking towards her and stopped short of the blade. "Put that down." She spoke calmly.

"No!" Vanessa screamed. She returned the knife to its position above Williams's chest.

"Vanessa. Give. Me. That. Knife." Candy spoke calmly even though she was in the midst of a life or death situation.

Vanessa pointed the knife at Candy's throat. "Get out before I kill you too!"

Candy's eyes grew cold with disgust. "Do it. I dare you."

Vanessa drew the blade back and sighed. "I can't."

Candy nodded."Because you're a good person. Which is why you are going to give me that retched knife and you are going to drop William."

"Yumi isn't breathing! She's going to die!" Vanessa cried.

Candy nodded. "An ambulance should be here soon, but you're probably right. Yumi has a very slim chance of making it." A tear escaped strong, strong Candy.

"She's dying and it's his fault!" Vanessa cried. A tear slipped down her cheek too.

"Killing William will not bring Yumi back."

Vanessa shook with anger. "William deserves to die!"

Candy shrugged. "This is true. But do you really want to bring death upon someone?" Vanessa bit her lip, but let Candy continue.

"Think about Steven. About what he did to you. Do you realize that if you kill William that you will be just as bad as Steven? Even worse?"

Vanessa's eyes moved from Candy, to William, to the knife. She turned the knife in her fist to see her reflection. Vanessa almost didn't recognize the girl staring back at her in the knife. Blood coated her skull and her hair was scruffed up from the struggle. Her eyes were glazed with tears and anger, and looked nothing short of insane.

"Please Vanessa. Just let go of your past, let go of the vengeance that you seek." Candy's eyes were pleading, but not weak.

"I can't." Vanessa whispered.

"Yes you can. I know you can." Candy said.

Vanessa did not move. She kept the knife positioned towards William's throat.

"Vanessa, my people go by an ancient saying. La Venganza no se llena el alma vacia. Do you know what that means?" Candy's soft Spanish language was calming. Vanessa processed the words in her head and nodded when she understood.

"Tell me what it means Vanessa." Candy took a step closer to Vanessa.

Vanessa spoke slowly. "La venganza no se llena el alma vacia, vengeance does not fill the empty soul."

Candy nodded. "And that rule does not exclude you."

Vanessa looked at her reflection again. Vanessa's eyes were glazed with tears but they were not the eyes of a killer. Vanessa slowly tried to regain her sense of leadership. When she opened her eyes again to look at her reflection, recognition filled her head. The eyes on the girl in the reflection were strong and bold. Those eyes knew that what she was trying to do was wrong; those eyes were not the eyes of a killer.

"Please Vanessa. Just let go of the past. Just let go." Candy pleaded.

And Vanessa did.

She dropped William's throat and he crumpled to the floor unconscious. Vanessa turned to Candy and held out her bloody hands. The knife lay across her palms calmly, as if it knew that its days of stabbing were done. Candy took the knife from her hands, allowing the blood to stain her fingers. "Now come on. Yumi needs help." The two girls ran up the rickety stairs and up to the bridge where Ulrich knelt over Yumi's lifeless body.

"Have you given her CPR?" Vanessa quickly knelt down beside Yumi. She held her hand above Yumi's parted lips to try and feel her breath again. Nothing.

"Yes, I've been giving it to her since we got out!" Ulrich cried and again began the steps to CPR.

"Her pulse." Candy said quickly. "Does she have a pulse?"

Vanessa placed her ear against Yumi's chest, listening for her heart beat. "Nothing." Vanessa whispered.

"No." Ulrich pushed Vanessa's head away and placed his own on Yumi's chest. She was right. There was no heart beat. "No!" Cried Ulrich. He felt her wrists. No pulse. "No!" He felt her thumbs and under Yumi's chin. "No! No! No!" He slapped her face. "Yumi!" He slapped her again. "Yumi wake up!"

Vanessa grabbed Ulrich and pulled him off of Yumi. "Ulrich! It's no use!" Vanessa looked at Candy who was looking for Yumi's pulse. "Is she?" Vanessa bit her lip and Candy stood up.

Candy looked at the sky and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Yumi is with Aracelis now."

Aracelis. The Hispanic goddess of the heavans. Yumi was gone.

Ulrich collapsed. He rested his head on Yumi's chest and soaked her shirt with tears. The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance but they were too late. Yumi was dead. All was quiet except for the sirens. Ulrich heard a faint throbbing in his ear. He tried to ignore it but the throbbing only grew. He lifted his head from Yumi's chest and the throbbing sound quickly vanished.

"What?" Ulrich lowered his ear to Yumi's chest and again, he could hear the very faint beat inside of Yumi's chest.

"What is it Ulrich?" Vanessa asked.

"Her, her heart." Ulrich responded. Vanessa and Candy quickly put their ears to Yumi's chest. There was a heartbeat.

"But that's impossible, she didn't have a pulse a minute ago!" Vanessa gasped when Yumi's stomach slowly started to rise and fall. Yumi was breathing. The sirens were loud and the two ambulance's pulled up onto the bridge followed by several cop cars and a fire engine.

"Yumi!" Ulrich cried and hugged her. He gently lowered Yumi's head to the ground. Yumi's lips parted like she was about to say something, but closed them again in pain. She was too weak to even speak. Paramedics and cops flooded the scene.

What happened next was a blur. Paramedics flooded the scene, and cops entered the factory to get William. Several paramedics surrounded Yumi, and started surgery. A paramedic sat Ulrich down and inspected his cuts and bloody forehead. Candy took control and started to speak to two police officers about what had happened.

Several paramedics surrounded Vanessa and made her lay down.

"Why? I'm not hurt." Vanessa asked the older friendly looking one. He smiled at her. "You've lost a lot of blood. How long has your head been bleeding?" He gestured to the large gash in the side of her head and Vanessa quickly realized the pain that she had been trying not to notice. "About ten minutes."

The friendly man nodded and said something to another man who was reaching into a blue bag. They attached some wires and tubes to Vanessa that lead to a clear bag full of red liquid that one of the paramedics was holding up high. She felt a sharp jab in her arm and yelped. One of the paramedics had poked a needle into her arm. "We gave you some pain medication. You will black out in a moment." The man said. Vanessa nodded and turned her head. She caught a glimpse of Yumi being lifted onto a stretcher. Vanessa smiled. Yumi's eyes were open. _Everything's going to be ok._ Thought Vanessa just before she blacked out.


	26. Chapter 26: Turbulence Part 2

Ulrich and Candy sat in the hospital waiting room. Candy sat with her feet up on the coffee table as she read a magazine, and Ulrich was asleep in the chair next to her. His foot was bandaged up; William didn't stab it deep enough to need surgery. It was 11:17pm.

_Bang._

Candy and Ulrich jumped as the door to the hospital slammed open.

Odd and Aelita franticly rushed in. It was easy to spot Ulrich and Candy, there were only five other people in the waiting room.

Odd and Aelita ran over to the two of them. Aelita had been crying.

"Are they ok?" Odd breathed. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. The minute that Ulrich had called and told Odd what happened, Odd and Aelita dropped their golf clubs and dashed to the hospital.

Candy bit her lip. "Vanessa should be fine. She just needs some stitches for her head. Yumi, on the other hand is under intense surgery. She messed up her back and ankle, and her shoulder…" Candy drifted off, not really wanting to remember the horrid thing that happened to Yumi's shoulder."

"Ulrich said something about her breathing and heart stopping, is she ok now?" Aelita asked.

Candy nodded. "They have her hooked up to a machine or something. She can't really breath on her own for the moment."

Odd nodded and looked at Ulrich. "And William?"

Ulrich glanced up at Odd. "The police took him. He'll probably go to Juvie or something, but he's not going to be returning to Kadiac ever again."

Aelita and Odd nervously sat down across from them. Aelita spoke up.

"So what happened? He just went berserk on you and tried to kill Yumi?"

Ulrich shook his head. "He thought that if I was gone Yumi would love him. He just wanted to kill me."

Odd eyed Ulrich's foot. "Well I see he did a good job." Odd said sarcastically.

Aelita shoved Odd. Now was not the time for jokes. "So do you think Yumi will be ok after this. You know, if she makes it?"

Ulrich stood up defensively. "She _will_ make it and she _will_ be fine." A small smile crept over Ulrich's face. "Besides. William got her right shoulder. Yumi punches with her left arm."

Everyone smiled a little bit at this.

Suddenly the doors swished open again. Jeremie came running in.

"Is Yumi ok? Is your sister ok Odd? What the hell happened?" Jeremie plopped down next to Ulrich.

Ulrich groaned and curled up in his seat. "I'm too exhausted to tell it again. Someone else tell him!"

Candy quickly filled him in.

"Man." Mumbled Jeremie. "And just before sports start too."

Candy shrugged. "It will just be practices for the first four weeks. Ulrich will have that thing off by tomorrow."Candy pointed to his bandages. " Vanessa will probably pull through. Yumi might not be so lucky."

A nurse walked through the doors that led further into the hospital. She approached the group.

"You're the Yumi Ishiyama and Vanessa Della Robia group, right?" The nurse asked.

They nodded.

"Would you like to see Vanessa?"

The group jumped out of their chairs and nodded. They followed the nurse through the hallways, up an elevator and down another hallway until she came to a halt by a door. She knocked before entering.

Vanessa was sitting up in a hospital bed. A doctor sat on a swivel chair next to her taking her blood pressure. The moment Odd could get past the nurse he sprinted over to his sister and threw his arms around her, sobbing into her hospital gown.

After a moment Odd regained his cool and pulled away, wiping at the tears.

The nurse and doctor left them alone for a moment.

"You're looking better." Ulrich half joked as he sat down on a chair.

Vanessa smiled. "I just can't wait until I can get out of here."

Aelita gaped at her. "You just had surgery on your head!"

Vanessa brushed it away. The gang began to take in her appearance. She still looked the same but her side slashed bangs had been chopped off.

Realizing they were staring at her, Vanessa quickly explained. "They had to chop off my bangs so they could stitch up my face easier. As soon as they let me out of here I'm going to the hair dresser."

The gang admired her eagerness to leave. They chatted for a moment until Candy stood.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to see if I can find a vending machine around here."

At the mention of food, Odd stood up. But Jeremie quickly pulled him back down.

Candy stood and left. When the door shut, Odd turned to Jeremie. "Hey! I'm hungry!"

Ignoring Odd's comment, Jeremie turned to the others.

"Guys, now we're short a player if Xana attacks."

Ulrich stood. "You guys, you're acting like Yumi is dead."

The gang looked at Ulrich with sad eyes. If Yumi did pull through the surgery, she wouldn't be able to fight Xana for weeks.

The gang thought about another person they could recruit. They thought that Vanessa would be enough, but Vanessa would be weak for another week.

Aelita sprang up. "This is just an idea, but what if we recruit Candy?"

The gang pondered this for a moment.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Odd said.

Ulrich sat back down. "But do we really want to have seven people involved in Lyoko? It could get chaotic."

Jeremie began to speak. "We could just use her as an extra player. Like, recruit her when Xana is really pulling out all the guns."

The gang thought about this for a while, then they all agreed.

"So it's settled." Odd said. "We tell Candy about Lyoko when we _truly _need help."

The doctors reentered the room. They asked the kids to leave, for they were about to do some tests on Vanessa. The teens left and returned to the waiting room, where Candy was standing with a granola bar.

Ulrich went up to the front desk. "Excuse me ma'am?"

The secretary looked up at him.

"Do you know how Yumi Ishiyama is doing?" Ulrich asked in concern.

The secretary looked at some of her notes and then typed something into the computer. "The surgery on her shoulder is almost done. She is responding very well. In about ten minutes they're going to perform another small surgery on her ankle."

Aelita appeared by Ulrich's side. "Do you know how bad her ankle is?"

The nurse glanced at her notes. "Just a small fracture. She'll probably be able to walk on it in a few days."

"And her back?" Candy appeared on Ulrich's other side.

The nurse glanced at her notes. "There's a small bruise on her lower spine, but that will heal on it's own. So what did you say happened to the girl?"

"She jumped thirty feet on to our attacker, then got stabbed in her shoulder." Ulrich shivered at the memory.

The nurse shook her head. "That girl's got some guardian angel watching over her."

…

The next few days were crazy. Classes had been cut because of the near murder incident. The students brought gift baskets to the hospital, but weren't allowed to see Yumi because she was still in critical condition. Dozens of gift baskets were piling up for Yumi. Many students also came to visit Vanessa. They were allowed to visit Vanessa because Vanessa was only under observation for her head.

Many questions were asked to Vanessa about her scar. Without her bangs, Vanessa couldn't hide. She just told everyone that she had fallen on a coffee table when she was little.

Odd, Yumi, Ulrich, Aelita, Candy and Jeremie stayed at the hospital for those few days. They slept in the waiting room and occasionally were allowed to stay with Vanessa.

One evening they got a surprise.

The gang were in their chairs, almost asleep when the hospital front doors were thrown open. They looked up.

Walking in was a group of eight.

The Della Robia's.


	27. Chapter 27: Turbulence Part 3

The gang stood in shock. Everyone else in the hospital gaped at the large family.

Mr Della Robia walked over to the front desk as the rest of the family made their way over to the waiting room area.

Mia spotted Odd first. "Odd!" She ran to her brother and threw her arms around him. Mia had a pale blond pixie cut with a purple splotch in the middle. Her eyes were pale blue and big, and she was extremely short.

"Hi Mia." Odd hugged her before trying to pull her off himself, but he failed.

Mark, the oldest of the children at twenty years old, came over and pulled Mia off Odd. He swooped Mia up and put her on his shoulders, and Mia giggled and held onto his dirty blonde hair.

Odd gave Mark a questionable look. "Mark? What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York with the rest of the band."

Mark smirked. "Mom and Dad called me. As soon as they told me what happened, I got in my car and drove to the closest airport, then bought a ticket and flew here. I actually ran into the rest of them on the way over here."

Odd nodded and then eyed Molly. A smile formed across his mouth. "Hey brunette."

"Hey Odd-Ball." Molly smirked and walked over to him. She crossed her arms. "So, how many girls have you dated in the first few weeks you've been here?"

Odd smiled and through an arm around Aelita. "Just one."

Vanessa smiled at Aelita. "Keep a tight leash on this one." She said jabbing her thumb at Odd.

Aelita laughed. "I'm hoping he was behaved over the summer?"

Molly nodded. "He didn't even flirt with one girl. I thought there was something wrong with him."

The three of them laughed before Molly went to take Mia from Mark.

Odd glanced over at Travis and rolled his eyes.

Travis was leaning against the wall flirting with one of the nurses. Odd called over to him.

"Geez Travis you've been here for, what? An hour? And you're already trying to pick up a girl!"

"Sounds like someone we know." Ulrich smirked under his breath.

The nurse left Travis and he approached Odd smiling. He held up a green sticky note that had the nurse's digits on it. "Actually, she's the forth. I've already got a flight attendants number, some chick that was at the airport, and a girl I just met outside."

Aelita smiled and turned to Odd. "I assume he's the one you learned your tricks from."

Overhearing their conversation, Travis smiled and threw an arm around Odd. "Odd learned from the best."

Travis left to go flirt with more nurses.

The gang's eyes fell on the twins, Jessie and Laura.

They were completely identical. Same creamy skin, same height, same platinum curly long hair, same heart shaped faces. Jessie had two purple stripes running down the left side of her hair, and Laura only had one.

But the gang could tell them apart. Jessie wore a black T shirt with a purple broken heart on it and a black frilly-ripped skirt. She had on purple fishnet gloves and she wore leather short boots.

Laura had a pale blue tang top with a smiling sun on the front on and white short shorts. She had several silly bands on her wrist. She wore lime green flip flops that had yellow poka dots on them.

Both the girls wore a silver necklace, and on each necklace was the half of a charm that when put together, said _Gemini. _

Odd explained that Jessie was into drama and the arts and more serious, while Laura was sporty and goofy.

Mrs Della Robia came over and hugged Odd. "How you feeling sweaty?"

Odd smiled. "Fine. Did you guys come all the way from California?"

Mrs Della Robia nodded. "When you called me I grabbed the car keys. When the rest of the family heard, they all wanted to come see Vanessa."

Jessie and Laura came over. Jessie spoke.

"We really wanted," Jessie began, then Laura finished her sentence. "to see you and Vanessa."

Mr Della Robia came over. He smiled at Odd and messed up his hair. "The nurse said we can see Vanessa."

The huge group walked into the swinging doors and into the many hallways until they reached Vanessa's room. When they entered, they saw Vanessa sitting cross legged on the bed and throwing a tennis ball at the wall across from her. When she turned and saw the family, she smiled.

Mrs Della Robia ran over and hugged her. Mr Della Robia came over and did the same. When he pulled back, he smiled at Vanessa.

"Geez V. You've only been here for a few weeks and all ready you're in the hospital."

Vanessa laughed.

Mia walked over and crawled up into the bed and onto her big sisters lap. She looked up at the scar.

"V, your hair isn't covering your owchy!"

Vanessa touched the scar. "I know. They had to cut my hair so they could operate on me easier."

Mia looked at her in awe. "They cut your purple!"

Vanessa nodded. There was only one long thread of purple left in her hair now.

Jessie and Laura came over to her.

"The scar looks,"

"a lot smaller." Laura finished for her twin.

Vanessa smiled. Her head had been banged up on the side the scar was. When the operated on her, they had split her skin right at the scar so as not to disturb anymore skin. They had done a better job with the stitches than her last doctor, so now the scar appeared smaller, and not as hideous. Now it actually looked…cool.

The Della Robia's stayed in a hotel that night, and left the following morning.


	28. Summer Finale: Turbulence Part 4

**Heyyy! So I wanna talk about my contest. Well, it's not really a contest, it's more of a challenge. As you all know, right about now, the time that I'm writing this, there are about 5,320 code Lyoko stories. Well, I challenge you, the code Lyoko writers and readers to change those numbers. I challenge you to write your butts off so that fanfiction has 6,000 code Lyoko stories by the end of 2011. If we all write at least one story we will be able to hit 6,000. Think you can do it?**

Vanessa had been released from the hospital on Tuesday, but stuck around with the rest of the gang until Yumi was able to accept visitors.

It was Wednesday when the group was able to see Yumi.

They were sitting in the waiting room, goofing off when the nurse had called them over.

"Miss Ishiyama will be released from the hospital tomarow. Until then you're allowed to visit her."

The gang followed the nurse up to Yumi's room.

Yumi was sitting in bed watching TV. She looked completely normal. Her shoulder had a wrap around it and her angle was bandaged. Other than that she looked completely normal.

"Yumi!" Aelita cried and ran over to Yumi. She hugged her avoiding her shoulder. Everyone else joined in.

"Hey guys." Yumi said happily.

"You have no idea how much we were worried about you." Odd said excitedly.

The gang talked for a while before the nurse spoke up.

"Yumi needs to put some pressure on her ankle, exercise it a bit. Since you guys are here, do you mind walking her around the hospital for a bit?"

The gang agreed.

…

After a while of walking, the group stopped by some couches and a fountain to rest.

Odd pulled Ulrich aside.

"Dude, you should probably talk to Yumi."

Ulrich gulped and nodded. "I've been meaning to talk to her for a while."

Odd nodded his approval and walked over to one of the couches to sit next to Aelita.

Ulrich approached Yumi, who was talking to Vanessa next to the fountain.

"Yumi?"

Yumi turned to face him and smiled.

"Yumi, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Yumi smiled. "Of course Ulrich."

Ulrich rubbed the back of his neck. "Yumi, when you were passed out on the bridge, slowly slipping away from the world, I realized something. Actually, I realized it that night on the balcony. I've known how I feel about you since that first day we met, when you pinned me to the ground."

Ulrich gently took Yumi's hands in his.

"Yumi, I love you."

Yumi's smile fell. She starred at him blankly.

Vanessa could see it in her eyes, fear.

Yumi dropped Ulrich's hands. She spun on her heel and began walking down the hallway in the opposite direction.

…

Yumi leaned on the balcony railing outside her hospital room. She let a sigh escape her lips. She stared out into the glorious day. Soon it would be fall; the leaves were all ready beginning to change color. The sky was turning dark, it would soon rain.

Yumi felt her presence.

Vanessa knew she felt her presence.

Vanessa walked over and leaned on the balcony railing beside Yumi. They were silent.

Vanessa finally broke the silence.

"Why?" She asked.

Yumi didn't respond. She knew perfectly well what Vanessa was referring to, but she remained silent.

Vanessa turned to Yumi.

"Why would you skip you chance?" Vanessa yelled. "Why are you so stubborn?"

Yumi turned and attempted to walk back inside, but Vanessa blocked her.

"Don't walk away Yumi!" Vanessa yelled. "Don't walk away from Ulrich. We both know how you feel about him, so why would you walk away from your chance?" Vanessa screamed.

Tears stung Yumi's eyes. "Because I'm afraid! Ok?" Yumi spoke softer. "If I let him in, then I'll just screw up and lose him."

"Well that's a risk you have to take Yumi! If you don't give love a chance, then you'll never be happy. I should know." Vanessa clenched her fists. "Just look at me!" She pointed to her bare forehead, her scar. "I was almost murdered by someone that I thought I loved. He wasn't the one, and fate made that happen to guide me in the right direction. If it didn't happen, I could be a fucking drunk druggy! It HAD to happen. And you know what? I'm ok with that. I'm going to keep trying at love until I find the one. I could have been beaten and had my heart broken a thousand times, and I still wouldn't give up. Because that's what love is. It's the force that keeps you going."

A small smile formed on her lips as a image of Colin filled her mind. He had visited her in the hospital seven times and brought her a gift basket each time he came. "Maybe, fate brought me here for a reason. Maybe fate brought me here, so I could meet my soul mate. I don't know right now, but one day I will. But Yumi, you know right now, if Ulrich is the one."

Vanessa continued. "When you were dying, Ulrich was begging, pleating to God to take him instead of you. He was willing to die for you."

Yumi pounded the nearby wall with her fist, hard. "That's what I'm talking about!" She screamed. Tears spilled from her eyes. "If I let him it, I risk losing him.

Tears spilled from Vanessa's eyes too. "Well that's a fucking risk you have to take. You'll never be happy unless you do."

Yumi blinked back tears as memories filled her eyes.

_Yumi fell from the scanner, gasping for breath. Thoughts flooded her mind. Why can I breath? You can't breathe on Lyoko. Why am I on earth? The questions kept flowing as she fell. Someone caught her. Yumi looked up. Ulrich was gently cradling her in his arms._

_Yumi sat on the cot in the nurses office. Ulrich sat next to her, gently applying a bandage on her broken skin. His hand lingered, holding hers, the two blushed. _

_Yumi lay crushed under the tree. Ulrich held her freezing head in his hands, refusing to leave her for the warmth of the nearby building._

_Ulrich held her as they sat sprawled on the floor of the dance. He gently stroked her back in comfort, while his other hand firmly gripped her waist. "Ready for a trip into the past Yumi?"_

_Ulrich pulled her back onto the safety of the desert platform. She gripped his shoulders, refusing to let go in fear that she would fall again. Ulrich clutched her waist as he hoisted her up to safety. "Ulrich you," she stumbled foreword into him. They looked off the cliff, realizing that Yumi almost died. Yumi rested her hand on his chest. She leaned in, the Lyoko wind blowing her hair. Ulrich stood on his tip toes, he was still shorter than her back then. Yumi parted her lips as she neared his. She could feel his warm breath on her mouth. They were only an inch away when the return bubble enveloped the them, sucking them back into the past, along with the rest of the world._

Yumi opened her eyes in realization. Tears stung the corners of her lids but she was smiling. She looked up at Vanessa.

"I love him." Yumi whispered.

Vanessa smiled. "Then go."

Yumi nodded and broke out into a run down the hallways. The wind whipped her hair as she rounded the corner. She came to a halt in the hospital waiting room. Odd was playing his DS and Aelita had her feet up on the coffee table as she read her magazine.

"Where is he?" Yumi panted. Odd looked up from his game and Aelita set her magazine down.

"The pond." Aelita began. Yumi raced out the front doors and ran across the parking lot bare foot. The asphalt dug into her feet and rain pelted her face, but she didn't slow down. Yumi ran across the grassy hills, and she stopped when she reached the large pond.

She looked across the water. Ulrich was sitting under a weeping willow tree.

Yumi sprinted around the pond and stepped through the curtain like branches of the weeping willow tree. It's leaves acted like an umbrella.

Ulrich threw another rock into the water. He noticed her, and stood. "Yumi, I,"

Yumi cut him off. "No. Don't say you're sorry. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. I'm sorry that I'm a jack ass. I'm sorry that I run away when you show any signs of affection. I'm sorry for everything. I'm just afraid. I'm afraid that if I just admit it… admit that…"

"Admit what?" Ulrich took a step closer to her.

His body was inches from hers. She looked up into his warm brown eyes. "Admit that I love you."

Ulrich smiled down at her. "I promise, I will never leave you. Because that would hurt you, and I could never bring myself to hurt my soul mate.

Yumi smiled as tears formed in her eyes.

"I love you." She whispered before leaning up and kissing him. After a moment they pulled back.

"And I love you too." Ulrich said before pulling her closer and kissing his soul mate.

**There you go. Dedicated to all my YumiXUlrich fans. BTW, when I was typing this up my fucking power went out. I was almost done typing it too. When the power finally came back on, I opened up this chapter from word, and only the first two sentences were there because that's where I saved it at last. Geez. Don't you love technology?**


	29. Chapter 29: Fall

**Hola muchacos! So some of you were asking how much of the story I lost when my power went out. Well, I had typed all the way to the part where Yumi ran out to the pond. When my power came back on, all that was saved was the first two sentences. :( Oh well. I actually like my re-typed chapter better :).**

More than a month had passed since William's rampage.

Fall had finally arrived.

The leaves on the trees had turned golden. The summer's heat was forgotten, and everyone began to dress warmer as the late October winds blew over the school. Every burst of wind would cause dozens of leaves to jump from their branches and flow through the air, like a kaleidoscope of browns, reds, and yellows.

Yumi and Ulrich were officially a couple.

…

"Yumi, try to stay balanced. As long as you do, we won't drop you." Alyssa shouted up to Yumi. Yumi was currently in a full lib. The cheerleaders were practicing their routine one last time before practice was over. Alyssa was back spot, Connie and Lonnie were bases, and Sissi was front spot.

"Ok." Once Yumi was balanced, Alyssa nodded to the other two stunt groups that were on either side of them. The stunt groups tossed their flyers, Vanessa and Cindy, and the two sailed up into the air and did a back flip before landing in their bases hands. Yumi's stunt group tossed Yumi up and she did a single twist before cradling.

"Alright, that should be good for today girls." Coach Liz wrote something down on her clip board before letting the girls go. The cheer team filed into the locker room and started changing.

Candy pulled her clothes from a gym locker. "Vanessa, you nailed that last back flip." Candy had back spotted Vanessa in the last stunt.

Vanessa smiled. "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it if you hadn't thrown me so high. You're so freak'n strong."

Candy shrugged. "And Yumi. You're doing so amazing! Even with your busted shoulder!"

Yumi rubbed her right shoulder. She could feel the small bump where the knife had gone through her flesh. It had healed really quickly but it was still a bit sore. "It's hard to tumble with it, but I usually put more pressure on my left side anyways, so it's not that bad."

Candy smiled and pulled on her dark green uggs. The cold had prompted Candy to where warmer clothes. She had on a light green dress with a dark green long sleeve shirt underneath. Her red hair was still long and curly, and she wore a dark green head band to keep it out of her eyes.

Vanessa stood up next to her. Vanessa wore a pale purple short sleeved turtle neck dress that reached mid thigh. Underneath, she wore black leggings that ended just below the knee. She wore simple black flats as well. What had changed the most about Vanessa was her hair. After Vanessa was released from the hospital, she immediately went to the hair salon like she promised. The gang was shocked when she returned. Vanessa's straight black hair had been dyed blond like it used to be. She stopped straightening it and left it in its long, loose, curly naturalness. Her purple bangs eventually grew back, and Vanessa had them cut straight across, right above her eyes. The scar peaked out a tiny bit on the side, but Vanessa didn't care. She was sick of hiding and wanted to be her old blond happy self.

"Ready to go Yumi?" Vanessa asked Yumi.

Yumi stood. Her black hair had grown long and hung past her shoulders. She wore a black tang top under a white V neck long sleeve shirt with two red stitch marks in the middle. She wore black skinny jeans and a pair of red converse.

"Yup. I'm ready." The girls headed out of the locker room. On their way out they walked past Alyssa.

"Hey, nice job today Yumi." Alyssa smiled at Yumi.

"Thanks, you too!" Yumi waved as she walked out of the locker room.

The girls walked down the hall and ran into the rest of the gang.

"Hi guys." Aelita waved to them. She had on black knee high converse and lime green tights. She wore a black frilly skirt and a pink long sleeve shirt that hung off her shoulder. She had a lime green tang top underneath. Her necklace that Odd had given her still hung around her neck.

Odd sat next to her. He wore a pair of black jeans with purple converse. He had on a purple hoodie.

Yumi walked up to Ulrich and smiled at him. He smiled back and quickly kissed her. Some of the other girls walking by and glared at Yumi. Ulrich was one of the hottest freshmen and they were pissed the day Yumi came back to school with Ulrich holding her hand.

Ulrich wore an open green sweatshirt over his black t shirt. He wore blue jeans and a pair of black sneakers. His brown hair had grown out a little, and his bangs reached his eyes.

Jeremie glanced at something behind Ulrich and Yumi, and then he rolled his eyes. His blond hair was slightly messier, and he wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a white and grey sweat shirt. He had finally hit his growth spurt, and was now as tall as Odd.

"Don't look now, but the beast is approaching." Jeremie muttered before glancing back down at his book.

Everyone groaned and turned to face Sissi.

"Ulrich, Ulrich dear!" Sissi smiled and approached them. She wore a fluffy pink sweater and a pair of white ripped jeans. She wore pink flats and carried a fluffy pink purse. Her hair was up in a high ponytail.

"What do you want Sissi?" Yumi growled.

Ignoring Yumi, Sissi took a step closer towards Ulrich. She fluttered her eye lashes.

"Ulrich dear, have you broken up with that string bean yet? Because I'm still available, and I would just love…"

Yumi ended Sissi's rant by pulling Ulrich into another make-out session. Sissi angrily glared at Yumi before walking away, leaving the rest of the gang in a fit of laughter.

When Yumi finally pulled away, Ulrich smiled down at her.

"Sissi should come bug us more often."

The gang laughed again.

"Well, come on guys. Let's go get dinner. I'm starving!"

Odd grabbed Aelita's hand and pulled her towards the doors.

"As usual." Ulrich muttered. Yumi laughed and clasped his hand, and the two of them headed out the doors with the rest of the gang.

Suddenly, Candy stopped. She scrunched her face and clasped her head.

Vanessa stopped and looked back at her. "Candy? Are you alright?"

Candy nodded and put on a smile. "I'm fine. I'll catch up with you guys in a minute!"

Candy left Vanessa and ran in the opposite direction. She turned the corner and leaned against the wall. Tears falling from her eyes, she slid down the wall until she was sitting. She wrapped her arms around her legs, and buried her head in her knees, sobbing.

After a moment, she took out her cell phone. She quickly dialed and pulled the phone to her ear.

A moment of ringing passed until someone finally answered. "Hola?"

"Mama?" Candy spoke into the phone. "Es Caramela. Mama lo puedo sentir. Es malo. Y cada vez es peor."

Translation: Mama? It's Caramela. (Candy) Mama I can feel it. It's bad. And it's getting worse.


	30. Chapter 30: Ginger

"_Tell me. Should I trust you?" The boy said to her as he held her half beaten body._

_She hesitated. Finally she spoke just before she blacked out."No."_

Vanessa sat up in bed shaking. Her first thought was '_what the hell?'. _It was five o'clock in the morning.

Vanessa turned over to face Candy. Candy was wearing a pair of green sweats and a dark green sweat shirt. She wore her sneakers. She was about to leave for her morning jog.

"Something wrong chika?" Candy asked Vanessa as she laced up her sneakers.

Vanessa shook her head. "Just a weird dream."

Candy shrugged. She pulled a small blue bottle out from the back of her closet. She dumped two white pills in her hand before swallowing them with a chug of water from her water bottle.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Why do you take those every morning? They're not like, weird Mexican illegal drugs, right?"

It was Candy's turn to role her eyes. "Yes Vanessa, because I'm sooo the type of person to take illegal drugs." She spat sarcastically.

Vanessa held her hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm just making sure. But seriously, why do you take those?"

Candy smiled sadly and walked to the door. "You have your secrets, and I have mine." She said before closing the door behind her.

…

"Odd, you're cheating!" Ulrich yelled at Odd. Ulrich, Odd and Vanessa were playing a racing game on the giant flat screen in their room.

"Dude, just because you're sucking doesn't mean I'm cheating." Odd sat in one of the bean bags, Aelita right next to him. Ulrich was sitting on the couch with Yumi, and Vanessa sat in the other bean bag. Jeremie sat backwards in one of the desk chairs rolling his eyes at his bickering friends.

"Hey! You just bumped me off the freak'n road Odd!" Vanessa yelled at her brother. "That's not fair!"

Odd rolled his eyes. "Uhg. When did you become my wife?"

Vanessa grabbed one of Ulrich's soccer balls that sat next to her bean bag and threw it at Odd.

"Ow! Ah V! You just made me lose the game!" Odd yelled.

"Karma." Yumi sing songed and rested her head on Ulrich's shoulder.

Odd glared at her. "You know, if you weren't a girl I would beat you up."

"Odd, I would beat _you_ up if I was a guy. Hell, I can beat you up now!" Yumi laughed.

Odd frowned and looked down. "Yeah I know." He laughed.

Aelita put her arm around him and laughed.

"Hey Vanessa?" Ulrich asked Odd's sister. "Where's Candy?"

Vanessa shrugged. "She's out running some personal errands. Heard her mention a doctor's appointment or something." Vanessa nervously bit her nails. "Hey, do you guys think she's been acting strange lately?"

Ulrich sat up straight. "Yeah. She seems a bit…drowsy."

Jeremie shrugged. "Doesn't she take medication? It might be a side effect. Do you know what kind of medication she takes?"

Vanessa shook her head. "She won't tell me."

Odd slyly smiled. "Maybe we should do a little investigation."

Yumi stood. "Guys, if Candy doesn't want people knowing about her medical history that's fine. She's entitled to privacy."

Vanessa nodded. "I know, I know. It's just that… I'm worried about her."

…

Candy sat on the green rubber bunk in the doctor's office. Her mother sat in a chair a few feet away and the doctor sat at her desk, typing something into the computer.

"Caramella." The doctor said turning to Candy. "It was smart of you to come. You had a recent spike in your immune system."

Candy bit her lip. "So, the destruction process is speeding up?"

The doctor nodded her head. "I'm so sorry."

Candy let a tear role down her cheek. Mrs Estavoz hugged Candy, and shushed away Candy's tears. When Candy finally regained herself, she asked the doctor the question that has been haunting her for the past few days.

"How much time do I have?"

The doctor shook her head and looked Candy in the eyes.

REVIEW!


	31. Chapter 31: Quakes Part 1

"_It's funny how we take life for granted. Some people go through life thinking they have it bad, but look around. There are people in Africa dying of hunger and homeless people living under bridges. We as human beings tend to drift towards selfishness, to demand more instead of being thankful for what we have. Every day you walk by people that may have it better than you, or may have it worse than you. It's the people that are living in poverty that truly understand the world, and are thankful for every drop of water they are able to drink. You don't truly realize how lucky you are to see a new day, until you are told that your very existence could end at any given moment." -anonyms _

Odd and Aelita sat in the grass and watched the cheerleaders practice. Yumi was tumbling with Samantha while the other girls were stunting.

"They're really good." Aelita said to Odd.

Odd nodded. "They train really hard. Before Vanessa became a cheerleader back in California, I used to think cheerleading was stupid. But I guess you need to be really fit to do all the gymnastics and stunts."

Aelita nodded. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick. Be back in a sec."

Odd waved. After a moment Odd stood and walked over to Vanessa's stunt group.

"Hey V." Odd said to his sister.

Vanessa glanced over at him and smiled. She and Cindy were about to do a basket toss.

"Hey Odd."Vanessa waved.

"Ok girls, let's do the basket tosses." Kylie said to the squad. Vanessa and Cindy got in their positions, holding the bases shoulders.

"One Two, down up!" Kylie and Alyssa (the back spots) said in sync. Both stunt groups tossed their flyers high in the air. But something went wrong with Cindy's basket toss. Instead of going up straight in the air and doing a back flip, Cindy drifted backwards as she back flipped, going over Kylie's head and out of her fly zone.

Her group couldn't catch her now.

Cindy screamed as she was coming down, head first. Thinking fast, Odd ran and managed to somehow catch her. The two of them fell to the ground, Odd breaking her fall and saving her life.

"Are you ok?" Odd asked as he stood up. He held a hand out to Cindy.

Cindy took it and wobbly stood up. She nodded her head. "You just saved my life. Thank you so much."

Cindy hugged Odd and kissed him on the cheek. A sudden gasp caused Odd to turn around. There, Aelita stood in tears.

"Aelita, wait, it's not what it looks like!" Odd yelled. But Aelita had all ready turned away and was sprinting across campus.

…

Aelita had left campus and was running through the woods. Tears streamed down her face as she took a quick turn into a cave. She ran for a mile in complete darkness until she tripped.

Aelita lay sprawled on the ground crying. When she had returned from the bathroom, the first thing she saw was Odd helping Cindy up, hugging her and then she kissed him. Aelita continued to cry. She should have known. Odd was so amazing, hot, and sweet. And she was just plain, plain Aelita. Odd disserved better than her, and she knew that one day Odd would get bored with her and move on.

Aelita stood and continued walking. She walked for a while and then she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Aelita walked towards it and soon discovered what it was. A large room was lit up with lights. People walked around within it and talked. A gift shop stood to her left, and ahead of her was the entrance and exit of the cave.

_Oh. _Aelita thought. _I'm in the entrance part to the Kadiac caves._

"Last call for our 12:00 tour!" A women said. She wore a red shirt that said Kadiac Caves on it.

_What the heck._ Aelita thought as she approached the women. She handed her the fee and gave the women her name. Twelve other people were in the group.

"Alright everyone! Just stay close and you won't get lost. Don't wonder too far from the group, and don't go in any unmarked tunnels."

The tour guide turned and began leading the group into the bowels of the Kadiac caves.

…

"I can't find her anywhere!"Odd said to the rest of the group.

"She's not at the hermitage." Ulrich said.

"She's not in her room." Candy said.

"Where could she be!" Vanessa muttered.

"If we knew do you think we'd be looking for her?" Odd screamed at his sister.

"Don't yell at me Odd! I'm not the one who cheated on her!" Vanessa screamed back.

"I didn't cheat on her! Cindy fell and I caught her! She kissed _me_! So stop yelling at me!" Odd yelled.

"You're the one who's yelling Odd! You should have gone after her! You're being a terrible boyfriend!" Vanessa screamed.

"At least Aelita didn't choose a boyfriend that fucking tries to kill her!" Odd screamed. He immediately regretted it.

Vanessa became quiet and looked down at the ground.

"Vanessa I'm sorry, I just.." Odd trailed off.

"You guys. We're all worried about Aelita." Jeremie said. "But bickering isn't going to get us anywhere."

Ulrich nodded. "Your right, we should…"

Ulrich didn't get to finish. A low rumbling shook the earth beneath them, causing them and the other students to fall.

…

"And this, is a stalagmite. It's more than one thousand years old." The tour guide said to the group. They were very deep within the caves.

Suddenly, the cave began to shake. A deep rumbling filled the air.

"Don't panic," The tour guide said. "Just exit the way that we came."

The rumbling grew louder and rocks began to fall. Everyone ran back.

A little girl tripped. The rock above her was coming tumbling down.

Unable to let a little girl die, Aelita quickly ran back and grabbed the child, before shoving her after her mother. That was the last thing Aelita saw before she was knocked to the ground by the falling rock, and passing out.

**Review! I'm accepting requests!**


	32. Chapter 32: Quakes Part 2

**I recently received this review : **

_**I like the chapter ^^ Odd cheating on Aelita hilarious! XD Naaaa I'm joking :3 Or am I? Oh and can you review on my CL story? I really need pointers! ^^**_

**I would love to review your story, except whoever sent me this didn't write it under their username, so I have no idea who sent me it! :) **

The students at Kadiac academy tried to stand up when the rumbling stopped.

"What was that?" Some kid yelled.

"I think it came from the kadiac caves!" Another kid yelled. The students started running towards the caves. There were so many of them that Jim couldn't stop them. The Lyoko gang ran towards the caves as well.

When the gang reached the caves, there were at least two hundred people there. Fire men and police officers worked hard to keep the crowd away from the cave entrance that had just collapsed. Ambulances and fire trucks stood nearby.

The gang stood in shock. A near bye woman with a red kadiac caves T shirt was speaking to a police officer and panicking.

"Everyone on my tour made it out." The women said. "Except for one girl. She has pink hair, her name is…" The woman looked at her clip board. "…Aelita Stones."

**Review what you like, don't like, and any questions you have for me!**


	33. Chapter 33: Quakes Part 3

**Some of you were asking how long my story would be. I'm not sure exactly, but the story will end with the Lyoko warriors going into tenth and eleventh grade. So it's still a ways away.**

Everyone on my tour made it out." The women said. "Except for one girl. She has pink hair, her name is…" The woman looked at her clip board. "…Aelita Stones."

Odd barged in on their conversation. "What?"

The two looked at him funny. The cop spoke up. "Can I help you?"

"You gotta get Aelita out of there!" Odd screamed.

The cop put a hand on Odd's shoulder. "Listen kid. We're doing all we can do, but right now the cave isn't stable enough for anyone to safely go in and save her."

Odd slapped the cops hand away. "Well you gotta do something! She's my…"

"Cousin!"

"Friend!"

"Girlfriend!"

Ulrich, Yumi and Jeremie said at the same time.

The cop looked at the group funny. He shook his head. "Look, we're doing all we can do. For all we know this girl could be dead."

"No!" Odd screamed. "No! No! No!"

The group pulled Odd away from the cop.

"She's not dead!" Odd screamed again.

"I'm going to go see how long it will take them to get in." Candy said as she walked back into the crowd towards another cop.

"She can't be dead!" Odd screamed again. Ulrich grasped his shoulders.

"Calm down Odd! Aelita's probably fine but screaming like a bitch isn't gonna help!"

Odd looked at the ground.

"Hey guys!" Jeremie said. He was sitting on a nearby rock with his laptop in his hands. "Xana's attaching."

Yumi frowned. "This has him written all over it."

Vanessa bit her nails. "But if we don't have Aelita, how do we deactivate the tower?"

Jeremie stood. "Don't worry about that. I've been working on something. Now come on, let's go to the factory."

"But what about Aelita?" Odd yelled. "We can't just leave her here!"

Yumi put a hand on his shoulder. "Odd, the quickest way to save her is to stop Xana."

Odd hesitated for a moment then nodded.

Everyone stood and began to walk away from the scene.

"Hey, where are you guys going?"

The gang turned to face Candy. She had returned and had a hand on her hip. No oneknew how to respond.

Vanessa stepped up. "Candy…" Vanessa glanced back at the gang. They shook their heads no.

"… I can't tell you." Vanessa looked down at the ground, ashamed.

"Why not Vanessa?" Candy put her other hand on her hip.

"Look. All you need to know is that we're going to help Aelita." Vanessa said looking up.

"Well, I want to help to. Please, just tell me." Candy pleaded.

Vanessa bit her nails. She looked back at the gang once again, and they shook their heads for the second time.

Vanessa sighed. "Remember when you told me, you have your secrets and I have mine? Well, that's kind of coming into play right now."

Candy crossed her arms. "Fine. I don't like t, but I respect it. But I still would like to help."

Jeremie stepped up. "You can. If they get Aelita out I need you to tell her 'code red' and then call me. If you see any weird stuff happening I need you to call me about that, too."

Candy nodded. "Ok."

The gang turned and ran into the forest, towards the sewer entrance.

…

When the gang got to the bridge, a deep rumbling shook the ground again.

"Come on, we have to hurry." Jeremie said as he slid down the ropes. The others followed. As they ran to the elevator, Ulrich looked around.

"Guys?" He said. The gang stopped and looked back at him. "Where's Odd?"

…

Odd ran through the woods and finally came to the secret entrance to the Kadiac caves.

"Don't worry Aelita." He said as he lowered himself down into the cave. "I'm coming for you."

**Reveiw**


	34. Chapter 34: Quakes Part 4

**Lol, I was just reading some of the reviews.**

_**Tokita: Odd is committing suicide!**_

_**Me: What the heck? :) Where did you get that from? 0_0**_

**So, yeah. Just to clarify, I'm only like, a quarter of the way through the story, so I won't be killing anyone off… yet :) **

Ulrich looked around.

"Guys?" He said. The gang stopped and looked back at him. "Where's Odd?"

Vanessa stomped her foot. She glared up at the sky. "Christ Odd!" She returned her gaze to the others. "He probably went into the caves to look for Aelita."

"Should we go back for him?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich shook his head and hit the down button on the elevator. "There's no time."

The gang got down to the lab and Jeremie started typing something into the computer.

"So, how are we supposed to do this without Aelita?" Yumi asked.

Jeremie spun around in the chair. "I've been working on a new program. Basically, I can mix Aelita's DNA with one of you guys when you go into Lyoko, and there for you can deactivate the tower." Jeremie turned back around in his chair.

"Is it safe?" Vanessa asked biting her fingernails.

"Probably not." Jeremie said without turning around. "So, who wants to be merged?"

Ulrich, Vanessa, and Yumi glanced at each other, neither stepping up.

Finally, Yumi sighed and stepped forward.

"Ok guys. Get down to the scanners."

…

Vanessa, Ulrich, and Yumi each stepped into their scanners.

"Ok Yumi." Jeremie said over the intercom. "I'm going to send you last."

Ulrich and Vanessa's scanner doors closed.

"Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Vanessa. Transfer Ulrich. Transfer Vanessa. Virtualization. Your turn Yumi."

Yumi inhaled. "Ok, I'm ready."

The doors closed.

"Scanner Yumi. Merging, Yumi to Aelita. Transfer Yumi. Virtualization."

…

_Back at the caves_

Aelita finally regained consciousness. She looked around, but couldn't see anything because it was so dark. She attempted to sit up, but she couldn't, something was holding her down.

She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust, and then realized that she was trapped under several boulders and a truck load of dirt. She felt like she was being crushed, it was so hard to breathe.

Using the little energy she had, she called out. "Help!"

Her own voice echoed back, ringing through her ears as the noise traveled through what was left of the tunnel.

…

Ulrich and Vanessa landed on Lyoko in the mountain sector. They eagerly waited for Yumi.

After what seemed like forever, someone began to virtualize above them. Their virtualization process took longer than Ulrich and Vanessa's. The person dropped to the ground and landed on her hands and knees, for they weren't used to having such a short pair of legs. The person wobbly stood up.

"…Yumi?" Ulrich asked.

Yumi didn't look anything like Aelita's avatar, or her own for that matter. Yumi wore a miny shirt and skirt just like Aelita's, except they were red. The ribbons that ran up her legs and arms were red, but the loose leggings and arm warmers remained white. Yumi's hair looked just like Aelita's did on Lyoko, but it was black. When Yumi blinked, her eyes would switch from their natural shade of blue, to Aelita's emerald green.

"In the flesh." Yumi said. "Er, Aelita's flesh."

Vanessa smiled. "Well, let's get you to that tower."

Jeremie virtualized the vehicles. Odd's over board virtualized for Vanessa, and Ulrich's over bike for himself.

Yumi looked around. "Where's the over wing?"

"I think it'd be safer if you'd ride with Ulrich or Vanessa, Yumi." Jeremie said over the intercom.

Yumi nodded and hopped on the over bike behind Ulrich. Ulrich turned his head around in an attempt to kiss her, but Yumi held her hand up.

"Not while I'm in Aelita's body."

Ulrich chuckled and started the bike.

…

Odd ran through the caves with his flash light.

"Aelita? Aelita!" Odd yelled.

A deep grumbling filled the cave. Odd kneeled down and put his arms over his head, bracing himself for Xana's earthquake.

Some rock's and dirt crumbled above him, but nothing too serious. He kept going.

…

"Hornets, dead ahead." Ulrich said as he pulled out his katana with one hand while driving the over bike with the other. Vanessa created a dark sphere of energy, ready to blast the hornets. Not too far behind the hornets were two krabs, guarding the activated tower.

Yumi reached behind her back for her fans, but they were not there.

"Jeremie, how am I supposed to fight?" Yumi cried.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you… you can't fight." Jeremie bit his lip, preparing for Yumi's rant.

"What?" Yumi cried.

"And you can't be devirtualized either, or else you would die like Aelita would."

"Great." Yumi said sarcastically.

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "Ulrich, keep an eye on her."

"Can do." Ulrich pulled out his katana and stuck it out to the side. He drove past a hornet and sliced right through it, making it explode.

Vanessa flew high into the air on the overboard, then changed directions and shot straight down. She blasted two hornets with her energy orbs and then leaped from the overboard to avoid the explosion when it made contact with the ground.

She rolled on the ground and came to a harsh halt. She looked up and was greeted by a krab who was rapid firing at her.

Vanessa rolled away and jumped up into a sprint. She skidded to a halt behind a large rock formation.

"Vanessa, you just lost forty life points from that krab. Be careful!" Jeremie scolded into the headset.

Vanessa reached around the rock formation and shot at the krab. She missed.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it. Could you virtualize me a ride?"

A moment later the over wing appeared in front of Vanessa. She hopped on and flew around towards the krab.

…

Jeremie's phone began to ring. Jeremie checked the caller ID, it was Candy.

"Hello?"

…

"Jeremie?" Candy said into the phone. "You know how you told me too call you if any weird stuff started to happen?"

"Yeah…" Jeremie replied. "Oh god, what's happening?"

"The caves and the area around the entrance are just crumbling. Like, completely falling apart. They evacuated the area around there."

Candy looked down at the cave entrance. She was standing on a high cliff a safe distance away. She could view everything for miles around. The wind whipped at her hair violently.

"And looking down at that general area, it looks like the entire area is going to collapse. There's this strange pattern of cracks surrounding it. It's weird; it looks like an eye or something." Candy glanced around. "And there's similar patterns like that all over the city."

Jeremie gasped. "Candy, make sure to stay away from the eye patterns. Keep me updated."

"Ok." Candy said as she began her run down the cliff.

"Stay safe. If everything goes well this should all be fixed in a couple minutes." Before Candy could question him, Jeremie hung up.

…

Aelita lay crushed under the rock and earth. Each earthquake put more weight on her, and it was becoming so hard to breathe.

She would die.

Forever buried.

No one would find her.

Aelita turned her head to the side, spotting a small hole. Peering through it, she could see that on the other side the cave stood fairly strong and open. The hole was only big enough for her to reach her arm through.

Aelita used the little strength she had to yank the necklace Odd had given her from her neck. She held it's smooth surface in her hand for a moment, before reaching through the hole and placing the necklace in the dirt. Using her finger, she drew a small heart around it in the dirt.

She may soon be buried and forgotten, but she and Odd's love will not.

…

"Ulrich! Be careful!" Yumi yelled as she tightened her grip around Ulrich's waist. Ulrich had nearly driven off the cliff to devirtualize one of the krabs.

"Sorry." Ulrich drove towards two hornets. "Yumi, get ready to take the wheel."

As they got closer to the hornets, the monsters started firing at them. Right when the over bike was under the hornets, Ulrich jumped into the air, slicing through two hornets in the process, and then landed back on the bike.

Vanessa flew towards one of the krabs, shooting her black energy lasers at it. The krab fired back, hitting the over wing. It began to bug up.

"Oh come on!" Vanessa screamed as she tried to regain control of her vehicle.

The over wing blew up, sending Vanessa flying over the side of the platform and towards the digital sea.

Vanessa quickly created a wall of black energy. She landed on it with a thud, thankful for her ability to maneuver matter. Vanessa stood and quickly raced back up to the platform, using smaller black energy walls as steps.

…

Odd frantically ran through the caves. The earthquakes were growing stronger and more frequent, and each one made more of the cave collapse.

A deep rumbling roared through the cave. Odd yelped and jumped to the side as a rock and earth fell from above him. When the earthquake finished, Odd stood back up and continued his sprint through the caves.

He waved the flashlight around, looking for any sign of Aelita.

A small shimmering caught his eye.

Odd returned the flash lights beam to where he had seen the shimmering. Odd gasped.

He ran over to the object.

A necklace.

The one he had given Aelita.

Surrounded by a heart drawn in the dirt.

A sudden shift in the pile of rock and earth startled him. Odd quickly began to dig. He tossed rocks aside and rolled the big ones away. Finally he uncovered her face.

"Odd." Aelita breathed.

"Aelita, are you ok?" Odd panicked.

Aelita shook her head. "I can… barely breathe. The rocks… are… crushing me." Aelta gasped and sputtered for air.

"I'm going to get you out." Odd said as he began to dig her out.

Another earthquake shook the cave. More dirt and rock fell from the ceiling, and Odd used his body to protect Aelita.

"Odd, it's no use." Aelita breathed. "Leave while you still can."

"No." Odd said. "I'm going to get you out."

"Odd, there's too much rock. You'll die trying." Aelita said, a small tear falling from her eye.

"Well at least I'll be with you." Odd whispered. A small tear rolled down his cheek as he bent down and kissed her.

…

Ulrich drove the over bike towards the krab. He sliced through one of its legs, and the krab wobbly tried to regain its balance on three legs. A black beam shot through it, and it blew up.

Yumi and Ulrich looked over towards the edge of the cliff, where Vanessa stood, hand raised in the air. She glared at them.

"Thanks for being so concerned about me almost falling into the digital sea!" She spat.

"Sorry, we weren't paying attention." Yumi said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeah well you're lucky I, look out!" Vanessa screamed as she jumped at Yumi. She knocked Yumi to the ground, protecting her from the laser the krab had shot by using her own body as a shield.

"Thank you." Yumi said as she watched Vanessa become pixilated.

"Shut up." Vanessa said with a smile as she was divirtualized. She returned to earth curled up on the floor of her scanner.

"One more krab." Ulrich said as he pulled Yumi back onto the bike.

Yumi looked at the krab. "It's blocking the tower, how do get in?"

Ulrich started the bike. "Jump when I say to." He muttered.

Yumi looked at him puzzled. "What? Are you crazy?"

Ulrich turned around and looked at her. "Trust me."

Yumi gazed into his eyes for a moment, before nodding her head.

…

Odd frantically tried to move the rock that was crushing Aelita. It wouldn't budge. A deep rumbling rang through the cave, much deeper and louder than the others. This was it. The big one. Odd crouched over Aelita, doing his best to protect her as the roaring grew louder.

…

Ulrich drove towards the krab quickly gaining speed.

…

The cave began to shake, and the roaring grew so loud it stung their ears.

…

Ulrich drove faster towards the krab, closing the distance between them.

"Jump!" He yelled.

Yumi leapt from the bike and rolled to the side. She gasped as Ulrich drove into the krab, the impact causing an explosion. Ulrich was divirtualized and the krab was destroyed.

…

Odd covered Aelita, rocks and dirt hitting his back.

…

Yumi ran to the tower. She covered her head, preparing for any impact as she ran into it. She found herself able to enter with ease. She ran to the middle, and stepped on the middle dot. She started to float up.

…

Tears fell from Odds eyes as he braced himself for the pain. The cave was collapsing.

…

Yumi stepped onto the top platform. She hesitantly walked towards the middle. A screen popped up, surprising her. She touched it with her finger, and it beeped.

The word _Aelita _appeared on the screen. Then _code:_

…

Odd gasped as he heard the cave collapsing above him.

…

Yumi entered the code _Lyoko._ It beeped again, signaling the deactivation.

"Return to the past now!" Jeremie yelled as he hit the enter key. The white bubble expanded from the computer, enveloping the world.

…

"One Two, down up!" Kylie and Alyssa (the back spots) said in sync. Both stunt groups tossed their flyers high in the air. But something went wrong with Cindy's basket toss. Instead of going up straight in the air and doing a back flip, Cindy drifted backwards as she back flipped, going over Kylie's head and out of her fly zone.

Her group couldn't catch her now.

Cindy screamed as she was coming down, head first.

Suddenly, someone jumped out and caught her, breaking her fall as she fell to the ground. Cindy sat up, gazing at her savior.

"You just saved my life." She breathed.

Cindy leaned over and kissed Jeremie on the cheek. "Thank you."

Jeremie smiled and glanced over at Aelita and Odd, who were smiling back at him from their spot in the grass, holding hands.


	35. Chapter 35: Irene Is COMING!

**Very short chapter. This is all I could post in fear that hurricane Irene will kill the power at any moment.**

"And I can just merge Aelita's DNA with Yumi's." Jeremie said excitedly.

"And then I can deactivate a tower." Yumi said happily. The gang was in Ulrich and Odd's room, talking about Jeremie's new merging program.

Aelita smiled. "This is great. Now we're one step closer to beating Xana for good." She beamed with happiness. Odd smiled and wrapped his arm around her.

"You think you could merge me with the princess?" Odd asked. "I've always wondered what it would feel like to be part of royalty."

Yumi cocked and eyebrow at Odd. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch with Ulrich next to her. "I can only imagine. Princess Odd, ruler of the kingdom of food." Ulrich snickered at Yumi's joke.

Odd crossed his arms defensively. "That's right Yumi. And my first order of business would be to send you to the guillotine."

Yumi glared at him. "Love you too Odd." She said sarcastically.

Vanessa smirked. "Funny, Odd. I thought your first order of business would be to make your kingdom serve eight square meals a day instead of three."

Odd scratched his chin. "Good point. Yumi, your decapitation has been postponed."

"Yay!" Yumi said dryly.


	36. Chapter 36: Paranormal

**Yay! Irene didn't decapitate the statue of liberty like I thought she would! Wohoo! But on a sadder note… 'sniffle' 'sniffle… waaaa! I had an allergic reaction to some stupid poison plant! Well, that's what I get for crawling around the woods and playing demon in the daylight all day.**

_"Hey Vanessa."_

_Vanessa smiled. "Hi Colin."_

_Colin gestured to her dress. "You look really pretty."_

_"Thanks."_

_Colin smiled and glanced at the floor. "I was wondering… would you like to dance?"_

_Vanessa blushed. "I'd love to." _

_Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pillow smacked Vanessa in the face._

Vanessa groaned and shoved the pillow away from her face. She sat up and glared over at Candy who sat chuckling in her desk chair. Vanessa grabbed the green pillow that Candy had hit her with and chucked it at Candy.

"Ow." Candy mumbled adjusting her headband in the mirror.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and fell back against her own pillow. "I was sleeping." She mumbled.

"Well get up, you missed breakfast and class starts in twenty minutes." Candy adjusted her headband one more time in the mirror, before turning to face Vanessa.

Vanessa groaned and pulled the covers over her head.

Candy rolled her eyes and grabbed her green pillow that Vanessa had thrown at her. She walked over to the side of Vanessa's bed and smacked her with the pillow. "Get up!"

"I'm up." Vanessa mumbled without moving.

Candy smacked her again.

"I'm up." Vanessa shifted slightly.

Candy smacked her again.

Vanessa shot out of bed. "I'm up!" She yelled.

Candy giggled, unfazed by Vanessa's morning crankiness. She had been roommates with her for almost two months and was used to it by now.

Vanessa walked over to her closet and lazily opened the doors. She pulled her nightgown off and changed into her purple dress and leggings. As she pulled on her black flats, she watched Candy pull out her small blue bottle and poor two white pills into her hand.

"Are you ever going to tell me why you take those?" Vanessa asked crossing her arms.

Candy smiled. "Trust me. I don't want to depress you with my medical history."

Candy tossed the pills in the air and caught them in her mouth, smiling at Vanessa's puzzled expression as she swallowed them.

"You're a freak." Vanessa said while smiling and grabbing her backpack.

Candy smiled and grabbed her backpack also before walking out the door with Vanessa. "Aren't we all?"

…

Candy and Vanessa walked into History class. Some kids were already there, talking to each other before class started in a few minutes.

Yumi was already sitting at the assigned table that she and Candy sat at. Yumi had her arms crossed on the table and her head resting on top. Her long black hair was sprawled around her, covering her closed eyes.

Candy and Vanessa smiled at each other and approached Yumi.

As loud as possible, Candy dropped her green backpack on the table. Yumi shot up, her eyes wide.

"A little sleepy, are we?" Candy snickered as she pulled her history book from her bag.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "I'd much rather be back home in my bed than here."

Vanessa smirked. "Aww. Were you dreaming of Ulrich?"

Yumi grabbed the closest thing to her to throw at Vanessa. Unfortunately for V, that would be a heavy text book.

Vanessa yelped and jumped away, avoiding the flying book by inches. She frowned. "That could have hit me!"

"That's the idea!" Yumi yelled.

Yumi and Vanessa glared at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing.

When Vanessa finished laughing, her eyes were drawn over to her assigned table. She gazed at the person who was also assigned that table, and who so happened to be sitting there right now.

Colin sat on the table top tossing a soccer ball up in the air. He was talking to Adam who sat at the table across from him, and laughing every so often.

Vanessa smiled and walked over to their table. Colin smiled when he saw her. Vanessa smiled back and took the soccer ball from his hands, then sat down on the table top next to Colin.

"What'cha talking about boys?" She asked. She started tossing the soccer ball up in the air, mimicking the way Colin had done it moments before.

"Home." Colin said as he admired her forwardness. "Adam thinks Canada is better than the U.S."

Adam nodded his head. "It's true. "

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You're saying that a big ice box is better than the U.S.?"

Colin laughed. He threw his arm around her shoulder. "See? Vanessa agrees with me."

Adam crossed his arms. "But she's from America too. That's not fair."

Vanessa shrugged. "Hey, that's American's for you. We're cheating, unfair, rude jerks."

Colin laughed. "But we're awesome too."

"Yeah." Vanessa high-fived Colin. Colin quickly stole the ball back.

Vanessa frowned. "Hey…"

Colin smirked. "You snooze you loose blondy." He said flicking a lock of her blonde hair. He stood and started juggling the ball on his knees.

Vanessa also stood. She quickly spun her leg around, knocking the ball from Colin's control and onto the ground. She rolled the ball back with her foot and popped it up, and started to juggle the ball herself.

Colin smiled. "You play soccer."

Vanessa shrugged. "A little." She caught the ball in her hand and handed it back to Colin.

Colin took the ball. "We should hang out after school sometime, maybe kick the ball around a bit?"

"Yeah, that'd be fun." Vanessa said.

Their moment was cut short when the bell rang. Mr Condor walked into the class room. "Alright class. Take your seats. Turn to page seventy four in your text books."

…

Ulrich was sitting on a bench in the park. Yumi was lying down on the bench, her head resting in Ulrich's lap.

Gusts of wind would sweep by, sending a storm of leaves blowing around them. Yumi watched the leaves dance in the breeze and smiled.

"I love autumn." Yumi said.

Ulrich smiled down at her. He was playing with her hair. "Yeah, it's nice."

They watched the leaves for a moment. Yumi shifted to get a better view of the leaves, but she cringed as she put pressure on her bad shoulder.

"How's the shoulder?" Ulrich asked, sensing her discomfort.

"A little sore, but it's fine."

Ulrich and her remained there in silence for a moment, until Ulrich finally spoke.

"We haven't really talked about what happened."

Yumi sat up, and looked him in the eyes. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

They remained quiet for a moment.

"Do you remember anything after William, you know…" Ulrich trailed off.

Yumi bit her lip. She hesitantly nodded.

"The doctors said you had a near death experience. What was it like?" Ulrich asked.

Yumi scratched her head. "You'll think I'm crazy if I tell you."

Ulrich smiled. "And I'll still love you anyway."

Yumi started to play with a strand of her hair, debating whether to tell him or not. After a moment, she looked up, deciding that she would tell him.

"It was weird. I remember feeling this excruciating pain. Like, nothing I'd ever felt before. That was William stabbing me. But it was quick. As soon as I felt it, it was gone. Everything started to glow, and everything turned white. I was lying in the middle of some sort of white train station thing. I couldn't feel anything, like I didn't have a body. There were white roses everywhere, and everything was marble. I was on the tracks. And I remember looking one way, and seeing you and all are friends. You guys were smiling. And then I looked the other way. There was a bright glowing coming from that end of the tunnel, and it was somehow beckoning to me. So I started to walk towards it. As I got closer, its glow grew stronger."

"But it didn't feel right. So I stopped and looked over my shoulder, where you guys were. You were still smiling. I couldn't decide which way to go."

Ulrich gazed at her. "Then what happened?"

"I stood there for a moment, unsure of what I should do. Then, I heard a voice. It said, 'it's a tough decision, huh?' And, the voice brought me comfort. So I nodded my head. Then it said 'most people don't get the choice.' And I sighed. Then I asked, 'how do I know which one is the right decision?' And the voice, well I don't know how, but I could feel it smile. And it said 'just go with your heart.'"

"So, I looked at the glowing light one more time. And Ulrich, you don't know how alluring it was. It was mesmerizing, and I could feel it trying to take all the pain away. But I turned away, and ran back towards you guys. And then everything turned so bright, and I could feel pain again, but I knew that it was the right decision. And I became aware of my surroundings; I was in your arms, half conscious. And I remember, well, feeling the voice smile."

Ulrich gazed at Yumi for a while. "Wow. That's amazing."

Yumi nodded her head.

Ulrich held her tighter. "And the voice, do you think it was…"

Yumi nodded her head. "Yup."

The two of them looked up at the sky, Ulrich having a new respect for the man that watched over all of them.


	37. Chapter 37: Dreams

**To The Powerpuff: Yeah, I was inspired by that scene in the movie XD**

**OMG! Character profiles are posted on my profile! To learn more about my OC's, checkout my profile! I am also excepting requests! Woohoo!**

**Warning: Brief sexual reference (Eww!) **

Aelita walked down the hall smiling. Her day had been going great so far. She had gotten an A+ on a test that she was sure she had failed, and in gym class, Jim had complemented her for being the fastest when they ran laps around the track.

Aelita walked out of the school and towards the bench in the school yard. She smiled at Yumi, Candy, Vanessa, and Ulrich and sat down next to Odd.

The group chuckled as Jeremie approached them. At least ten pretty girls surrounded him, each of them making goo goo eyes at the blond genius. Jeremie waved good bye to the girls before sitting down on the bench.

"Good news." Jeremie said happily. "I've been working on a new program that might help us defeat Xana once and for all."

Candy smiled and pressed her fist into her palm. "Xana's going down."

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered in union.

Odd looked into Aelita's eyes. They smiled at each other before leaning in and kissing. Everyone awed over the happy couple.

Suddenly, Yumi broke in. "Hey Aelita. Do you want to go to the Pretty in Pink Convention this weekend?"

Aelita smiled. "I'd love to…" Aelita quickly frowned, skeptical. "Wait a minute… I've tried to get you to go to that convention for years now, but you've never agreed once." Aelita crossed her arms.

"What are you talking about?" Yumi asked, all indecent like. "I love pink!"

Aelita suddenly realized that Yumi was wearing a fluffy pink dress and bow. Yumi smiled at Aelita.

Aelita kept her arms crossed. "Come to think about it, this whole day has been perfect. Too perfect."

She looked around at her friends, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"You're supposed to be gothic and hate pink." Aelita said pointing at Yumi.

"You're not supposed to know about Xana." She said pointing at Candy.

"You're not supposed to show signs of affection to me in public." She said pointing at Odd.

"And you're supposed to be sad and lonely." She said pointing at Jeremie.

Suddenly, a pink haired women busted through the gates, running towards Aelita.

"Aelita! Aelita!" The women called.

"Mom?" Aelita whispered. "I've always dreamed you'd come back."

Aelita's eyes grew wide. "That's it! I'm dreaming!"

Everything flashed white and Aelita felt herself being yanked out of her perfect reality.

She yelped and sat up, expecting to be in her bed. She was surprised to find herself on Lyoko. Aelita realized that a wire was attached to her forehead, and she yanked it off. Her eyes trailed down the wire, until they found what the wire was running from. A giant monster that she had never seen before, with the eye of Xana plastered on it. Aelita gasped and stood up, running from the creature. She finally noticed her friends scattered around her, all knocked out cold. They also had wires running from their foreheads to the monster.

Aelita ran to Odd, and tried to grab him. She was blocked by some sort of force field.

Aelita ran towards a transfer tower.

"Jeremie? Jeremie!" She screamed as she entered the tower. No reply. Aelita quickly set up her program to send herself back to earth.

…

Aelita rode up the elevator to the computer room. She gasped. Jeremie and nurse Yulonda was lying on the floor.

Aelita ran over to Jeremie and shook him awake.

"Ae, Aelita?" Jeremie asked. "How did you get back?"

Aelita shook her head. "Jeremie, what happened? I don't remember anything that happened before I woke up on Lyoko just now. There was this weird monster that was stealing something from me, and it's doing the same to the others right now!" She screamed.

Jeremie looked at her funny. "You don't remember anything?"

Aelita shook her head. Jeremie stood up and ran over to the computer, Aelita quickly following him.

"We were attacked by Xana. He took control of nurse Yulonda and started to attach us. You, Ulrich, Yumi, Vanessa and Odd went to Lyoko to try and deactivate the tower, but you couldn't. A new monster appeared. After that I lost contact with you guys. I could still see you on the screen, but you didn't respond to anything I said to you. Then Nurse Yulonda knocked me out cold."

Jeremie fittled with the computer once more. "That's weird. The tower isn't activated anymore."

Aelita nudged nurse Yulonda. "It doesn't look like Xana is controlling Yulonda anymore."

Jeremie scratched his head. "Maybe Xana just wanted to trap you guys on Lyoko. What did you say the monster was doing?"

"I'm pretty sure that it knocked us all out and put us to sleep. I was dreaming, and I kind of realized that I was and woke up."

Jeremie nodded his head, he was back at his computer. "I think I figured it out. Xana made you guys dream so that he could distract you for a while to drain something from all of you. The question is, what did he want?"

Aelita shook her head. "What should we do?"

Jeremie looked at her. "We need to wake them up."

"How? When I tried to grab Odd, a force field blocked me."

"How did you manage to escape?" Jeremie asked.

"Like I said. After I woke up I pulled the wire that was connected to my head off, and then just ran away."

Jeremie nodded. "The wire must be keeping them protected by the force field. You woke up because you realized it was a dream, so that's how we'll wake up the others."

Aelita bit her lip. "So we just wait until they realize they're dreaming? Jeremie, that could take forever!"

Jeremie smiled and rolled his eyes. "Aelita, genius sitting in front of you."

Aelita smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "What's your plan?"

Jeremie started typing on his computer. "I think I can send you directly into their dreams. Once inside, you can wake them up."

"How?" Aelita asked.

"I'm assuming that you will probably be in their dreams already. Seeing two Aelita's would probably scare them into waking up. If not, try convincing them that they're dreaming. And if that doesn't work, do something out of character that would surprise them enough to make them wake up."

Aelita nodded. "Ok."

…

"Scanner Aelita."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Virtualization."

…

Aelita landed in a packed parking lot. She glanced down at herself. She was wearing what she usually wore on earth.

"Jeremie?" She asked. No response. Aelita grew worried, unsure if she would be able to do the job without Jeremie's guidance.

"Yeah I'm here." Jeremie's voice rang in her ear. She had an earpiece on that allowed Jeremie to talk to her.

Aelita sighed with relief. "Whose dream am I in?" She asked looking around.

"Odd's." Jeremie replied.

Aelita finally noticed the gigantic stadium that the parking lot led to. A huge picture of Odd was plastered on the Stadium. It read, 'Odd, pop star skateboarder performs today at 4:00.'

Aelita rolled her eyes and glanced at the nearby clock tower. It was 4:00.

"Can you give me a visual Aelita? I can only hear what's going on right now." Jeremie said through the ear piece.

Aelita nodded and gave Jeremie a visual, using the same process she did on Lyoko.

"I'm not really surprised." Jeremie said as he looked at the giant picture of Odd. "Go in and try to wake him up." Jeremie said.

Aelita nodded and walked into the stadium.

…

"And Della Robia finishes it off with a stunning backflip! Let's go to the judges!" The announcer pointed at the judges who were deciding what to give Odd. The three judges held their signs up one at a time.

10.

10.

01.

The last judge glanced at his sign and quickly flipped it right side up.

"That's three tens! And Della Robia just won the National skate boarding competition!" The announcer shrieked. The stadium went crazy with fans cheering and screaming. A chant of 'Odd! Odd!' Erupted throughout the stadium, and Odd smiled, taking it all in.

Odd's friends ran up to him, each of them had dyed their hair purple and were wearing purple as well.

"Odd you were great!" Yumi shrieked. She stood on her tip toes so she could be eye level with him, for he was much taller than her.

"Yeah! I wish I were as buff and strong as you!" Ulrich said.

"You is amazing!" Jeremie cheered.

"Um, I think you mean 'are'." Odd corrected. He was much smarter than Jeremie.

"I'm so proud to be your sister." Vanessa said. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, revealing her flawless forehead that had no scar.

"And I'm proud to be your girlfriend." Aelita said smiling. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him.

The real Aelita watched in disgust for a moment. Sure, Odd thought that he was making out with Aelita, but seeing Odd kissing someone other than her pissed off the real Aelita.

Real Aelita walked up to Odd and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can you give me a minute, I'm kind of…" Odd gasped as he turned and saw a second Aelita. He looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Wha?" He shrieked. Suddenly, everything flashed white, and Aelita felt herself being thrown from Odd's dream.

Aelita grunted as she landed on Lyoko next to Odd's sleeping figure. Being thrown from a dream really hurt. Odd shot up from his slumber and gazed around. His eyes fell on Aelita.

"Wha?" He repeated. He noticed the wire that was attached to his forehead and angrily yanked it off.

Aelita rolled her eyes. "Xana is using that thing," She pointed at the monster. "To put us to sleep so he can steal something from us. The only problem is, we don't know what."

Odd looked at her blankly. "Ok…"

Aelita rolled her eyes again. "And the only way to free you and the others is for someone to go into your dream and get them to wake up."

Odd glanced at the monster. "What about the sandman over there?" Odd said, jabbing his thumb at it.

"The what?" Aelita asked.

Odd shrugged. "It needs a name, right?"

Aelita shook her head. "Anyways, the _sandman _appears to be immobile, so I don't think we have to worry about it."

"Alright." Odd said, standing up.

"Ok guys." Jeremie said over the intercom. "I'm going to send you Aelita into Yumi's dream, and you Odd into Vanessa's. Try to wake them quickly, because we don't know what Xana is planning."

…

Odd landed in a lawn of soft green grass. He looked up and smiled.

Vanessa's dream took place back in California, Malibu. Their home town. Odd was standing in their front yard, gazing up at their mansion. It was late, and the sky was getting dark. He could hear music coming from the back.

Odd walked around the side of their house and went through the gate that led to their beach. The ocean was roaring, and Odd inhaled the familiar scent of salt water. He smiled, for there was another scent. Barbeque.

Odd's smile grew wider when he realized what Vanessa was dreaming about. Back in California, every Saturday in the summer the Della Robia's would have a party. Relatives, friends, and neighbors would come and they would play Volleyball and have a barbeque. They would play music over the loud speakers and swim and surf. When the sky turned black, Mrs Della Robia would hand out glow sticks and everyone would wear them while they surfed. When it got cold, they would all gather around the fire pit and roast marshmallows and sing songs until one o'clock the next morning.

Odd walked through the sea of people, looking for Vanessa. He finally spotted her sitting on the edge of the sand near the water, with a boy.

Odd jogged towards her, wondering who the boy was. When he got close enough, he recognized the boy and smirked.

"Hey Colin, you mind if I talk to Vanessa for a moment?" Odd asked.

Colin looked up at Odd. "No problem bro." Colin stood and jogged towards what Odd assumed was his surf board.

"What do you want?" Vanessa asked, semi annoyed.

Odd smiled and sat down next to her. "Thanks for dreaming of this. I missed home."

Vanessa looked at him funny. "What are you talking about?"

Odd rubbed the back of his neck. "Your dreaming. Xana is the blame."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, ok Odd." She said sarcastically.

Odd stood up. "Vanessa, think. Why would Colin be at one of our summer party's? It's not even summer. It's fall, remember?"

Vanessa's eyes grew wide. "I guess I am dreaming. Ok, so how do I wake up?"

Odd bit his lip. "Uh, you should of woken up when you realized you were dreaming."

They waited a moment, but nothing happened.

"Shit." Odd muttered.

…

Aelita landed on a concrete side walk. She took in her surroundings, and gasped, completely mortified.

"Aelita, what's wrong? Can you give me a visual?"

Aelita bit her lip. "Umm, Jeremie, I think Yumi would appreciate it if I didn't show you what she's dreaming about."

With that, Aelita disconnected the earpiece, so Jeremie wouldn't be able to hear or see anything going on. She took a deep breath, and entered the sleazy hotel.

Aelita was able to convince the woman at the front desk to give her Yumi and Ulrich's room number. She took the elevator to the top floor, and walked down the hall to the deluxe sweet.

Aelita sighed again, and knocked on the door.

She heard shuffling inside, and Yumi opened the door.

Aelita sighed with relief. Yumi still had shoes on, meaning that she and Ulrich had probably just gotten there.

Yumi glared at Aelita. "What?" She hissed.

Aelita took a deep breath. "You're dreaming right now. Xana put you to sleep so that he could mess with your head. You need to wake up."

Yumi looked at her, skeptical. "Yeah right."

Aelita sighed, knowing that she would have to surprise Yumi by doing something out of character.

With that, Aelita quickly punched the glass container holding a fire extinguisher, and the glass shattered. Aelita grabbed it and started to spray it everywhere.

…

"Odd, are you sure about this?" Vanessa asked as they climbed the rocky cliff.

Odd nodded. "When you die in normal dreams, you wake up."

"But how do you know it will work in an abnormal dream?"

Odd stopped and looked into his sisters eyes. They had reached the top of the cliff, and the waves crashed against the cliff base, hundreds of feet below them. "Trust me."

Vanessa watched her brother for a moment, before nodding. She took a step near the edge of the cliff, and peered over the side. The waves crashed wildly into the spiky rocks that jutted up from the tide. She returned her gaze to her brother.

"Odd, if this doesn't work…"

"…it will work." Odd said.

Vanessa nodded. "Just know that I love you."

Odd nodded. Vanessa took a deep breath and stepped off the edge of the cliff. Odd shut his eyes as his sister disappeared over the side. He waited a moment, terrified that it wouldn't work. Suddenly, everything flashed white and Odd was knocked out of Vanessa's dream.

Odd landed back on Lyoko next to Vanessa. Vanessa sat up, shock in her eyes. She yanked the wire from her forehead and looked at Odd. She quickly hugged him.

About that time, Aelita was knocked out of Yumi's dream. Aelita landed with a thud next to Yumi, who sat up pin straight. She angrily yanked the wire off of her head, and looked at Aelita.

"NEVER speak of it." Yumi threatened. Aelita rolled her eyes.

"What'd she dream about?" Odd asked.

Yumi gave him a death stare.

"Ok, we just need to wake up Ulrich." Aelita said standing up.

Yumi also stood. "I'll do it."

"Ok Yumi, I'm sending you into Ulrich's dream." Jeremie said over the intercom.

…

Yumi landed on a concrete side walk. She stood up, taking in her surroundings. She looked around in surprise, puzzled that she was outside the same hotel she had dreamed about. Yumi walked inside.

…

Vanessa, Odd, and Aelita sat on the ground, watching Ulrich's unmoving body. They had been waiting for twenty minutes, and nothing had changed. Odd glanced at the sandman, hatred in his eyes.

"So, why can't I destroy that thing now?" He asked Jeremie.

"Because it's still controlling Ulrich. If it goes, Ulrich will to. And since Yumi is still in Ulrich's dream, she will also go."

Odd clenched his fists in frustration and stood up. "That thing made me watch my sister basically commit suicide!"

"Just be patient Odd." Vanessa said, grabbing Odd's arm and pulling him back down.

Suddenly, Ulrich started to shift. His friends watched with interest.

Their eyes grew wide as Yumi was thrown back onto Lyoko, grunting as she hit the ground. Ulrich sat up, and yanked the wire from his forehead.

Odd jumped up. "Ulrich's disconnected! Can I kill the monster now?"

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "Sure Odd. Just make sure Aelita gets to a tower."

Odd pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

Aelita took cover behind a boulder as Yumi, Ulrich, Odd and Vanessa ran towards the monster. They easily destroyed it, for the monster had no way of fighting back.

…

"That was weird." Vanessa muttered. They were back in the computer room, discussing the day's events.

Aelita nodded. "Jeremie, did you figure out what Xana was trying to accomplish?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I think it's best if we are more careful."

The gang nodded. Odd looked at Yumi, a question had been bothering him for a while.

"So Yumi, what took you so long in Ulrich's dream?" He smirked.

Yumi glared at him. "Back off, skinny."

"I'm not skinny I'm svelte!"

**Everything that was mentioned vaguely in this chapter only goes as far as your imaginations do.**


	38. Remember Nine Eleven

**This chapter doesn't have to do with the story line; it is just a special behind the scenes recollection of 9/11.**

**PurpleSatinRose is to be called Rose for this chapter.**

Rose's heels clicked against the tile as she walked down the long hallway. She glanced at her clipboard one more time, scanning the notes she had made about the last chapter of CLDR. (Code Lyoko Destinies Realized.)

Producers, writers, and other people that worked for Rose nodded their hello's to her as they passed the young teen. She was the story's creator, after all. Rose's dirty blond hair was tied back in a messy bun, and her black dress swished as she walked. Her blue eyes were glossy, but she did her best to keep an unemotional face.

Today is September 11, 2011.

The ten year anniversary of 9/11.

Rose walked onto the set, where the main characters of CLDR were already waiting. The characters nodded their hello's, before taking their seats on several red couches.

"We're live in thirty seconds Miss Rose." Gary, one of the workers spoke from off set.

As the kayos went on behind the cameras, everything was quiet on set. The characters carefully watched Rose as she stared at the American flag plastered on the wall behind them.

"Quiet off set." Gary yelled over the noise. Silence filled the studio as all eyes turned to Rose and the Lyoko characters.

"We're on in five, four, three, two…" Gary motioned 'one' with his index finger, before pointing at Rose.

"Good Evening." Rose said to the camera, aware that although she was physically only speaking in front of a hundred people or so, the broadcast was showing live throughout all of America, Britain, Australia, and everywhere else that could understand English.

"Today we are not going to be showing a chapter of Code Lyoko Destinies Realized, we are going to be talking about what happened exactly ten years ago." Rose took a deep breath and glanced at the flag once again.

"Today, September 11, 2011, is the ten year anniversary of 9/11, the day the twin towers were attacked in New York City."

"September 11th, 2001, American Airlines flight 11 had left Boston on its way to LA. 92 people were aboard that plane. At 8:46, the plane traveling at a speed of 470 mph, hit the north tower of the world trade center complex."

"Within minutes, officials coordinated the city wide emergency response. Their base of operation was a city wide command center located on the 23rd floor of world trade 7. Confusion and panic struck not only New York City, but the entire nation. Everyone deemed it a terrible accident, but that changed in less than twenty minutes."

"At 9:03 Am, United Airlines flight 175, containing 65 people and going at speeds of 590mph, crashed into the south tower. President Bush declared that the crashing of the planes was not an accident, but a terrorist attack. After that, every Airport in America was shut down. It was the first time in history that had happened."

"Phone lines had been jammed with more than 230 million phone calls in New York City."

"At 9:47 Am, American Airlines flight 77 hit the pentagon."

"At 9:59 Am, the south tower of the world trade complex collapsed. It had only lasted 56 minutes after the hit time. Moments later, part of the Pentagon collapsed. America was crumbling."

"At 10:03Am, a plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Flight plane had been run by terrorists as well, and was heading for the white house. The braze passengers on board rose up against the terrorists and knocked the plane off course. None of them survived but they had saved thousands of people."

"At 10:28 Am, the north tower of the world trade complex collapsed. All power was down in lower Manhattan. Hundreds of fire men were trapped in the towers. Hundreds more raced to the scene."

"That night, President Bush declared a war against terrorism."

Rose looked around at the Lyoko characters, then back at the camera. "The day the twin towers collapsed, was one of the scariest days in American history. From that moment on, planes were not only seen as a method of transportation, but as weapons."

Rose glanced at Odd and Vanessa, signaling them to speak.

Odd turned to the camera. "I was five years old when the planes crashed into the twin towers. At the time, I still lived in California. Vanessa and I had been getting ready for school when our mother called us into the family room."

Vanessa nodded. "Our parents and older brothers were gathered around the TV. Our father told us that school had been canceled. For a moment, we were happy, but then I noticed the tears that ran down my dad's cheeks. Our mother explained to us that two planes driven by bad people had crashed into two very important buildings, and that hundreds of people were still trapped inside and thousands were already dead or injured."

Rose nodded to Candy who turned to the camera. "I was six years old when it had happened. I was visiting some family in New Mexico. My cousins and I was playing in the living room when the adults ran in and turned on the TV. That was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry."

Yumi turned to the camera to speak. "I was also six years old when it happened. My family still lived in Japan at the time. My father had just left to go to the airport, he had an important meeting in the United States. I had gone to bed, but soon my mother woke me. My dad had returned, telling us that all flights heading to the US had been canceled because of several terrorist attacks. My mother, father and I stayed up the rest of the night, watching the news and praying for the victims of the attack."

Jeremie turned to the camera. "When the twin towers collapsed, I was only four years old. I don't remember much, but I do remember seeing my older sister bite her finger nails as she and I watched the news. We were actually watching when the second plane hit the south tower. We actually saw it live."

Ulrich took a breath, for it was his turn to speak. "I was five years old, and living in Germany. I was sleeping when my mother came into my room and woke me up. She told me that a plane had hit the world trade center. I started to cry. My grandfather worked in the north building. My mother took me down stairs where we found my dad talking on the phone. He was speaking to my grandfather. I begged my dad to let me talk to him, and he finally agreed. My grandfather told me that he had just gotten out of the building. That he would be ok. I remember his next words so well, it's like they're engraved in my brain. 'It's ok Ulrich. As soon as I get out, I'm going right to the airport. And when they open up the airports, I'm going to get on the first flight to Germany…' And then there was a huge blast in the background. The phone call ended. It was 10:28 Am in America. I was so terrified that my grandfather had been killed, but he called back seconds later saying that the north tower had collapsed."

Rose finally turned to the camera. "I was very young when the twin towers were attacked. I can remember that our teacher had been teaching us how to spell words like cat, dog, rug, when our principles voice came on over the loud speaker. All of us looked up, surprised. Our principle hardly ever came on the announcements. She explained to us what had happened, and I remember that my teacher had started crying. I was so young; it was hard for me to understand. But somehow, I knew that it was bad. Very, very bad. I started to cry. Some kids in my class started crying too. My school was only 300 miles or so from New York City."

Rose looked at the American flag. "That day, our nation had been shook. All sense of safety was gone. We had nothing. But we had each other. So American's turned to each other for guidance. We came together as one. As one nation."

"Today we take the time to remember all those who died. The victims, the hero's. We take the time to pay our respects to the innocent lives taken by those careless terrorists. We take our time to thank the people on flight 93 who knew that they were going to die, but rose up against the terrorists to save thousands of people in Washington D.C. We take our time to thank the firefighters and rescuers of 9/11, those who lived and those who didn't."

"And most of all, we take our time to remember the most powerful thing of all." The Lyoko warriors and Rose grasped hands. "The uniting of a nation."

"And… we're clear." Gary said. People began to clap and then started to talk again.

The Lyoko warriors glanced at each other, before glancing at Rose.

Rose was looking at the flag once again. Her face was natural, emotionless. She closed her eyes and whispered something, before turning and leaving the set, and disappearing within the kayos of the studio.


	39. Chapter 39: Intelligence

**Hi guys! If you have any questions about the story, just ask in your reviews or private messages. Got an idea for the story? I'll do my best to try and incorporate it. I don't own code Lyoko and blah blah blah.**

**This chapter is a doozey! If you get confused don't hesitate to ask about anything!**

**IMPORTANT: REMEMBER, THIS IS RATED T. THE CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER DOES NOT BREAK THAT RATING, IT JUST APPEARS TO. BUT IF YOU READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER, IT WILL ALL BE CLEARED UP!**

It was a cold October, Monday morning. The gang sat at their usual table in the cafeteria, quietly sipping warm apple cider. Candy was away again, at another doctor's appointment in a nearby town.

Yumi glanced at Jeremie. He was fiddling with his computer.

"Jeremie, have you discovered what Xana was trying to do when we were in dream land?"

Jeremie looked up at Yumi and shook his head. "No. I'm working on it right now though."

Yumi sighed and continued sipping her cider. She wasn't fond of the idea of an evil computer virus stalking her dreams.

"Maybe he was trying to look for our fears." Vanessa mumbled.

Ulrich shook his head. "I doubt it. Judging by what you guys have told me about your dreams, they weren't scary."

Odd rolled his eyes. "I don't know Ulrich. Seeing two Aelita's was pretty scary."

Aelita glared at him. "Shut it Odd."

Odd narrowed his eyes, and continued to eat his breakfast. The gang looked at Aelita and Odd, questioning expressions on their faces.

"Anyways…" Yumi began. "He could be looking for our weaknesses."

Jeremie shrugged. "It's possible."

Silence fell amongst them. The only thing that could be heard was Odd's loud chewing.

Finally, Aelita snapped. "Would you quit being so gross Odd? I swear, the whole campus can hear your chewing!"

Odd slammed his fists on the table, making everyone jump. "Why are you so irritable all of the sudden?"

Aelita crossed her arms. "You know why!" She shouted before stomping out of the cafeteria.

"Aelita! I cannot believe you're still upset about that!" Odd yelled as he ran after her.

The two of them disappeared out the cafeteria doors, leaving the gang in shock.

"What the hell happened between them?" Yumi asked.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "It happened this weekend when Aelita, Odd, Colin and me went out."

The gang looked at Vanessa, urging her on.

"You guys know where we were, right?" Vanessa asked them.

Yumi nodded. Vanessa, Odd, Aelita, and Colin had gone to a nearby town to meet up with some friends and go swimming at the park. Aelita said that it was just a friend thing, but you could easily figure out that it was a double date.

Vanessa continued. "So anyways, things were getting a little crazy, and Aelita and Odd were on third base, and,"

Yumi spit out her cider. "THEY WERE ON THIRD BASE?" She shrieked.

Vanessa smirked. "Yeah I know. Aelita usually doesn't get past second before she's out." Vanessa laughed.

Yumi, Jeremie, and Ulrich looked at her with a mix of disgust and pure terror.

Vanessa continued. "So, anyways, Odd went down, and Aelita started to freak out."

Ulrich stared at her. "They told you all this?"

Vanessa frowned. "No, I was watching them."

"WHAT?"

"Everyone was."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah. I was doing it to. I was on second base though with Colin."

"WHAT?"

"Can I continue?" Vanessa asked, crossing her arms. When she got no reply, she just kept going.

"So, as I was saying. Aelita starts freaking out. She looked like she was about to cry. I actually don't blame her. Our friends were being pretty rough with Odd."

"WHAT?"

"Stop saying 'what'!" Vanessa yelled. "And then, Aelita wanted to go home, and Odd got angry that she wanted to leave, and yeah."

Jeremie, Ulrich, and Yumi had froze. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.

The bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast and five minutes until first period.

Vanessa stood and grabbed her back pack. She slung it over her shoulder and glanced back at the still frozen Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie.

"So weird." She muttered before turning and leaving them.

…

Ulrich and Jeremie sat at their desks, waiting for class to begin. Their eyes shot up when they saw Odd walk in the door, looking fairly angry. Odd stomped over to them and dropped his backpack on the desk in front of Ulrich's, and then slumped down in the chair.

"Where's Aelita?" Ulrich finally asked.

Odd glared ahead at the white board on the front wall. "She's not coming to class. She's too mad to see me." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

Jeremie and Ulrich exchanged confused glances.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Jeremie asked.

Odd shook his head. "Why should I?"

Jeremie bit his lip and looked at Ulrich. He tended to be better at these kinds of things what with having an older girlfriend.

Ulrich scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "Well, with what Vanessa told us, we kind of understand that you scared her."

Odd blinked, then rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, I always run after her. Why doesn't she make the first move for once?"

"Because she doesn't know how. Aelita's only been on earth for a short amount of time. She hasn't had as much time to develop social skills like you have." Jeremie said.

Odd remained seated, staring at his desk. He wasn't going to budge.

"You know you're going to crack without her Odd." Ulrich muttered, smirking.

Odd spun around. "For your information I would much rather be here developing an education than out who knows where looking for Aelita!"

Ulrich and Jeremie smirked. Odd glanced at the white board. Their teacher had written on the board 'Pop quiz today'.

Odd sighed and pulled his backpack over his shoulder. "You win." He muttered before sneaking out of class to go after Aelita.

…

Aelita stomped through the woods, sulking. As she made her way down the path, she passed an electrical box. Aelita walked past it, not hearing the sparking coming from the electrical system.

_Snap._

Aelita stopped dead in her tracks. She listened closely.

_Snap._

Aelita began to worry. "Is someone there?"

Aelita gasped as a large coyote emerged from the bushes, snarling. She immediately spotted the eye of Xana within the coyote's pupils and took off running, with the animal hot on her tracks.

…

Odd walked through the forest. He shuddered and zipped up his hoodie to protect him from the cold. He stopped and listened. He heard footsteps coming towards him, _running_ towards him.

Suddenly, Aelita leaped from the bushes, running into him and sending them both tumbling down.

Aelita pushed herself off of Odd.

"Odd?"

"Aelita?"

A roar filled the forest. Odd turned and gasped. "Coyote!"

"Xana!"

"Duck!"

"Duck?"

"No, Duck!" Odd shouted as he shoved Aelita down. The coyote had leaped at her, narrowly missing her head by inches. Odd kicked at the coyote. The animal snarled and pulled away, giving them a moment to escape.

"Come on! We have to get to the factory!" Aelita shouted. She grabbed Odd's arm and the two of them sprinted away.

…

A wad of paper hit Ulrich in the back of the head. Ulrich muttered something under his breath before looking around the classroom, ready to beat up the wise guy that thought they could mess with him.

Ulrich made eye contact with Jeremie who pointed to the wad of paper. Ulrich picked up the wad of paper and uncrumpled it. It was a note.

_Xana's attacking._

Ulrich nodded to Jeremie.

Jeremie started obnoxiously coughing.

"Mr Belpois, are you all right? You are disrupting my class." The teacher said to Jeremie.

Jeremie shook his head. "Could I please go to the infirmary?"

The teacher nodded. "Fine."

Ulrich stood. "Maybe I should take him there, to make sure he's alright."

The teacher waved them off. "Yes, yes. Just go."

…

Yumi leaned against her hand, listening to Mrs. Hertz drone on and on. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone looking through the window of the door.

Jeremie. He was frantically waving his arms at her. Yumi nudged Vanessa and pointed at the door.

"What's he saying?" Vanessa whispered.

Yumi shrugged. "I don't know."

After another two minutes of trying to communicate with them, Jeremie finally sighed. He disappeared from the door window.

A moment later, Ulrich barged through the door. "Mrs Hertz! A fox is walking around the math wing!" Ulrich yelled, flapping his arms around.

Mrs Hertz looked at him, puzzled. "What?"

"There's a fox running around the math wing! He's chasing the kids! The math teachers need your help!" Ulrich screamed.

"But, fox's don't come out during the day." Mrs Hertz said.

"Well maybe you should go tell him that!" Ulrich yelled as he dragged Mrs Hertz out of the room.

Kid's started talking about the skunk in the classroom. Some kids left to follow Ulrich and Mrs Hertz. In all the kayos, in walked Jeremie casually shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Is there really a fox?" Vanessa asked.

"Not unless you call Xana a fox." Jeremie said smiling. Vanessa rolled her eyes. The three of them left and headed for the forest.

…

Aelita and Odd panted as they ran through the forest, trying to escape the coyote. A buzzing filled Odd's pocket. He pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Odd! Xana's attacking!" Jeremie's voice rang through the phone.

"Yeah no kidding!" Odd shouted.

"Where are you g…?" Jeremie stopped as he, Yumi and Vanessa almost ran into Odd and Aelita.

They stared blankly at each other before a roar shook them out of their thoughts.

The coyote had caught up with them.

They starred helplessly as the coyote charged at them, ready to kill.

_Thump._

Ulrich hit the coyote with his outstretched leg, knocking it over. He turned to his friends.

"Well are we just gonna stand here or are we going to run?" Ulrich shouted.

The gang began their sprint towards the sewer entrance. Odd skidded to a halt and lifted the lid.

Without even bothering the ladder, Yumi leaped down the man hole landing with a harsh thud. She was followed by Vanessa, then Ulrich, and then Jeremie.

As Aelita slipped down the sewer entrance, the coyote had emerged from the woods, growling at Odd. Odd yelped and climbed into the sewer entrance just as the coyote started to charge, closing the lid just in time before the coyote bit his hand off.

…

The gang swung down the ropes onto the floor of the factory. Yumi pressed the down button on the elevator and they began their decent. They dropped Jeremie off before continuing down to the scanners.

"Lady's first." Odd and Ulrich gestured into the scanner room. The girls smiled and each stepped into their individual scanner.

"Scanner Aelita. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Vanessa. Virtualization"

Odd and Ulrich then took their places in their scanners.

"Scanner Odd. Scanner Ulrich. Virtualization."

…

The moment everyone touched down on Lyoko, Jeremie knew something was up. He had forgotten to program the vehicles, and yet none of them were complaining.

"Ok guys. The coordinates of the tower are 20 degrees north, 69 degrees west."

Silence.

Not even a witty comment from Odd about the second coordinate.

"You guys?

Nothing.

Natta.

Zip.

"Hello? Earth to everyone?" Jeremie yelled into the head set, becoming frustrated.

Suddenly, something strange began to happen. On his screen, Jeremie could see that everyone had begun to move towards the digital sea, except Aelita.

"You guys! What are you doing?" Jeremie watched in horror as his friends moved over the side of the sector, and, and, nothing.

They remained on the screen.

"What the…?" Jeremie began to set up a visual from Aelita's point of view.

He shuddered at what he saw. Ulrich, Odd, Vanessa, and Yumi were lying on the backs of four manta rays. The creatures remained floating over the digital sea, motionless except for their wings which slowly flapped, keeping them airborne.

A small window popped up on the side of his screen. Jeremie opened it.

It was like a chat room almost. Words began to appear.

_Jeremie Belpois. Delete the program __**3.5DNAMerge%**__ now._

Jeremie glared at the words. The program Xana was talking about was the merging program. "Why should I?" He muttered to know one in particular.

_If you don't delete the program __**3.5DNAMerge%**__, you and your friends will face the consequences._

Jeremie looked at the words blankly for a moment, and then realized that Xana had heard him through the head set.

"I don't understand." Jeremie responded. "You have all of my friends out cold, and you're not using this opportunity to attack Aelita with the scypazoa." Jeremie clamped his hand over his mouth, forgetting that Xana could hear him. "Shit."

_There are more important matters at hand._

"Wait, how did you immobilize my friends like that?"

_Every human's subconscious acts as a barrier to their brain. This prevents others from breaking into your mind. The only way to gain access to the brain is by using a 'key' to get through the barrier. Unfortunately, the key is within the mind, which is locked within the brain. However, there is one easy way to see the mind._

Jeremie looked at the words blankly.

_Think. Seeing what goes on in your head, seeing what you truly feel, seeing your worst fears happening in front of you…_

"Dreams." Jeremie muttered. He glared, remembering the last attack. "The sand man."

_Yes. The 'sand man' as you call it. Unfortunately, I have only discovered how to immobilize your friends; a function that is displayed when human's sleep so they do not act out their dreams. Now, delete the program __**3.5DNAMerge% **__or Aelita will disease. _

Jeremie cringed at the words. "What are you talking about?"

_You mortals are so pathetic. The program __**3.5DNAMerge% **__does not function in the way you think. You believe that the program __**3.5DNAMerge% **__copies Aelita's DNA and morphs it with one of your friends. Then, your friend is divirtualized, the copy is removed and stored away for later use._

"Which it does." Jeremie said.

_You are wrong. The program __**3.5DNAMerge% **__does not copy Aelita's DNA, it takes it. To do that, it takes the DNA from her brain cells when she is being virtualized. Those brain cells then die. After your friend who was morphed with Aelita's DNA is divirtualized, the DNA cannot be reused and the computer must take more DNA from Aelita to keep the program __**3.5DNAMerge% **__functioning properly._

"And the more DNA the computer takes, more of Aelita's brain cells die." Jeremie gulped.

_Until she is dead. And the program __**3.5DNAMerge% **__will keep running and taking DNA from Aelita and giving it to your friend even if you didn't order the physical merging._

Jeremie narrowed his eyes. "How do I know you're not lying?"

A screen popped up containing all the information of the program. Jeremie read through it.

"You could be tampering with it."Jeremie said.

_Very well. If you won't take my word for it, then I'm going to have to force you to delete it._

Jeremie watched in horror as the manta ray holding Odd began to tilt sideways, and Odd began to slide off.

"Wait! Wait!" Jeremie shouted. The manta ray straightened out, and Jeremie let out a sigh of relief. "You want me to delete the program because it could kill Aelita, and then you can't steal her keys to Lyoko. Well, if you drop anyone of them, Aelita would immediately disease. If what you say about the programming is true, then DNA is being pulled from Aelita right now and being given to all of my friends because they have all used the merging program. If you drop one of them into the digital sea, they will die and Aelita's DNA that is inside them will parish too. The program will keep feeding Aelita's DNA to the person you dropped though, and the process will speed up because the DNA given to them can't function. Aelita will immediately die."

Everything was still. It remained like that for five minutes until the manta rays slowly began to fly towards the land, away from the dangers of the digital sea. The manta rays dropped the four limp body's on the ground.

"Now, here's what we're going to do." Jeremie said, feeling more in control of the situation. "You are going to delete the program that allows you to look into my friends minds, and the sand mans program. And I will delete the merging program."

_Ha! Why would I agree to that? _

"Because. If I just delete the merging program, sure, we both win, but then what? Next time we need to go to Lyoko you'll just immobilize my friends and send the scypazoa. And if you just delete the program, then you'll just send the sandman and regain all that information. I'm not stupid."

_And what if I don't agree to this?_

Jeremie gulped. "Then I shut down the supercomputer."

_You'd never do that with your friends inside._

"If you escape the supercomputer, you would kill us anyways."

Xana didn't respond. He didn't respond for a long time.

Jeremie gulped. "Delete the program, we'll do it together on three. One…two…three."

Jeremie hit the delete key. He watched as months of research was thrown out, and then he watched for any signs of Xana deleting his own programs.

He waited. The seconds felt like minutes, and the minutes felt like hours. Jeremie was terrified, terrified that he would have to shut down the supercomputer to stop Xana, and in the process kill his friends.

He almost pissed his pants when the computer beeped.

"_Beep. ProgramDreamSequence4. has been deleted."_

"_Beep. ProgramMindTunnnel3. has been deleted."_

"_Tower deavtivated."_

"_Beep. Sending Stern Ulrich, Ishiyama Yumi, Della Robia Odd, Della Robia Vanessa, and Stones Aelita back to SuperComputer3.0."_

Jeremie let out a sigh of relief and realized he hadn't breathed until that point. Jeremie fell back into the chair and silently thanked the heavens for blessing him with the knowledge he used to out think Xana.

…

Jeremie entered the scanner rooms just as the scanner doors opened. Ulrich fell out of his scanner, groaning when he hit the floor. Odd wobbly stepped out of his, took a few steps, before collapsing to the ground. Vanessa was curled up at the base of her scanner, exactly the way Yumi would return to earth sometimes. Ulrich and Odd's scanner doors closed again, preparing to bring back Yumi and Aelita.

Jeremie rushed over to help Vanessa, but when he grabbed her arm she growled and curled up tighter.

"She's not a morning person." Odd mumbled from his place on the ground, face plastered to the floor. He sat up. "I'm going up to the computer chair. It's much more comfy."

He slowly got up and started to walk back towards the elevator, when his scanner reopened and Yumi fell out, knocking into him and sending them both to the ground.

"Or this." Odd muttered sarcastically. "This is cool too." Yumi was out cold on top of him, and once again his face had been smashed into the ground.

Ulrich had been more prepared than Odd and caught Aelita when she fell out of his scanner. He easily carried her over to the elevator where he sat her down. Jeremie helped Yumi over to the elevator and then went back to assist Ulrich with dragging Odd over to the elevator. Ulrich then picked up Vanessa who snarled at him.

"Shut it Blondie." Ulrich said as he carried her over to the elevator.

…

"And then, I thought Xana wasn't gonna do it. But then, the computer said that his programs had been deleted."

Jeremie finished telling them what had happened. They were in the cafeteria. They hadn't done a return to the past because not much damage had been done to the real world. Ulrich had not gotten into trouble for lying to Mrs Hertz about the fox, because ironically enough, the coyote that had been chasing them ended up wondering into the school, and into the math wing to less. Jim had chased it out claiming that he used to be a animal control specialist, but did not want to talk about it. It was deemed that Ulrich had seen the coyote, and mistook it for a fox, and he wasn't in trouble.

He was however recommended to see an eye doctor.

Colin waved to Vanessa as he passed their lunch table, and she blushed and shyly waved back.

"Funny how you're so shy around Colin when you were on second base with him last weekend." Ulrich muttered.

Vanessa shrugged. "We were in a group, it was different. We do it every weekend."

Yumi stood up. "Vanessa, Odd, Aelita, I love you guys to pieces but I don't think you should be doing that every weekend. I mean, don't you think you guys are a little young?"

The three stared at her blankly.

Jeremie nodded his head. "Aelita's not even fourteen yet. I know I'm not in charge of her, but, that seems a little young."

Odd blinked. "Not really. I was six when I started."

Yumi pinched her nose. "Odd. That is wrong in so many ways."

Aelita stood up, annoyed with them. "Guy's I really don't see what the big deal is. It's only baseball."

:O

"Wha?" Jeremie, Ulrich, and Yumi said simultaneously.

"But, but, Vanessa said…" Yumi trailed off. She thought about what Vanessa had told them.

"Things were getting a little crazy." _On the baseball field._

"And Odd and Aelita were on third base." _Aelita's team was batting, and she had made it to third base, the base Odd was guarding._

"Aelita usually doesn't get past second before she's out." _Out of the game._

"I was on second base with Colon." _Vanessa was on the batting team also. She was on second, and Colin was guarding._

"Odd went down." _Odd was knocked down._

"Aelita started to freak out." _Because her boyfriend had been knocked down._

"Our friends were being pretty rough with Odd." _They were just being boys, kicking each other and cussing when it wasn't necessary._

"Aelita wanted to go home." _Because she was worried about Odd._

"And Odd got mad." _Because she wanted to leave in the middle of the game._

Yumi looked up when she put all the pieces together. So did Ulrich and Jeremie. They let out a simultaneous 'oh.'

Vanessa looked at them with her eye brows knit together. "Why were you freaking out?"

Ulrich rubbed the back of his head nervously, Jeremie blushed and Yumi directed her eyes towards the floor.

Like a light switch, it finally clicked in Vanessa's mind. She was surprised, but quickly became angry.

"You jackasses have the most perverted minds in the world!" Vanessa shouted. "I can't believe you thought that I'd do that, that Colin would do that, that Aelita would do that, that Odd would…"

Vanessa stopped. "Ok Odd I can understand but come on!" Vanessa screamed.

Everything was silent. No one in the cafeteria spoke. All eyes were on Vanessa.

Finally, Jeremie spoke up. "You _were_ kind of leading it on."

You can guess what happened next.

If there was a world record for angriest tantrumever…

Vanessa just broke it.


	40. Chapter 40: Awesome

**IMPORTANT!: Hey! So I'm going to be posting a Halloween special chapter soon… but I don't know if I should wait to post it until Halloween. PM me or review on what you think I should do! Reader opinions matter to me! Also, you know how I did sneak peeks in chapter 7? Do you want me to do that again? Review.**

_Thud._

_Swish._

"Yes!" Ulrich pumped his fist in the air and smiled.

"Goal by Ulrich Stern assisted by Colin Paisley!" The announcer cheered into the loud speakers. The crowd stood and cheered as well, clapping and shrieking with joy.

The cheerleaders caption, Kylie, called formation and the cheerleaders started the awesome cheer.

"A-W-E, S-O-M-**E**, awesome, awesome, total**ly**!"

Ulrich spun around and ran towards Colin, the two of them jumping simultaneously and bumping chests in a celebratory manor. The rest of the team, even Jason their goalie ran up to the boys to congratulate them, to congratulate all of them, for winning the game against Irondiville, one of the toughest teams in France. Ulrich had scored in the last seconds of the game, breaking their tie with Irondiville and preventing them from going into overtime.

Ulrich looked over at the cheerleaders from his group celebration. His eyes met Yumi's and he waved to her.

Yumi smiled and waved back before jumping into Trina and Stephanie's ready hands, and being lifted into a full lid. Ulrich smirked at Yumi. Her raven black hair was up in a bouncy pony tail, and she was wearing her light blue and white cheer uniform consisting of a miny skirt and cheer vest (basically a sleeveless top, it's not really a vest it's just called that in cheer) despite the cold. Coach Liz had been kind enough to let them wear their white long sleeved under armor shirts underneath their vests. Ulrich liked it when Yumi was wearing her uniform, she looked incredibly cute.

**Short Chapter. Its main purpose is just for you guys to read the note above the story. I didn't want to post anything big yet before I get the Halloween issue resolved. **


	41. Chapter 41: Second Sneak Peek

**Hey guys! I'm sorry I'm not able to update so quickly any more. I'm taking college level courses in high school, (I won' tell you what grade I'm in, but I'm not a senior. That's all I'm telling you.) I'm playing soccer for the school and we have practice for three hours every day if we don't have a game, and I have tests, like, every freak'n day. This chapter is just some more sneak peeks, so don't flip out and become confused.**

**Let me clear up some frequently asked questions:**

**Why don't they put Candy in a scanner to make her healthy?**** The gang doesn't know that there's anything wrong with Candy. They don't know about her health issues, and since they don't, they don't have a reason to put Candy in a scanner. They don't need Candy on Lyoko yet, so they aren't going to tell her about Lyoko without a purpose. **

**How long will this story be?**** Ummm, those details cannot be specified yet. I know that the story will be ending (APPROXIMATELY) with the Lyoko warriors entering 10****th**** grade (and 11****th**** grade for the older girls) so the story will maybe be around one hundred chapters long. (Whoa that's long!)**

**What's wrong with Candy?**** If I told you, then that wouldn't make the story suspenseful. Then I would have to remove 'suspense' from the genres section. No need to fret, you will find out soon. **

**Yumi, a cheerleader? Wha?**** I was really worried when the idea came to me. I was worried that it'd be too farfetched for Yumi; that it would look extremely out of character. But I guess it works. Yumi does gymnastics and is willing to go to great extents for Ulrich. What do you guys think?**

**Are you going to go into more depth about Candy?**** Yep. Actually, starting with the Halloween special chapter I was talking about, you guys will start to learn more and more about Candy, leading to the big reveal of her illness.**

**What's your strategy for writing the story?**** Basically, I started off with a basic time line. I had all the main things and important events that were(and are) going to happen written out. Odd and Aelita become a couple, Vanessa and Candy come in, Vanessa is on team Lyoko, William goes berserk, Yumi and Ulrich become a couple, Halloween special, Candy is on team Lyoko, Candy's illness revealed and stuff like that. Then I put them in the order I wanted them to happen. As I worked my way through the timeline, I would write the chapters that come between. That's why I can be slow at updating. I take readers idea's into heart, and try to use their idea's in my story if they fit. **

**Anyways, here are the sneak peeks. The sneak peeks MIGHT not happen in order and the sneak peeks may be altered a little bit to keep the secrecy of the later chapters.**

Candy tossed Ulrich a black bag.

Ulrich caught it and gingerly stared at it. "What's this?"

Candy started walking towards the door. "My mom wants to see you again. We're going to her studio."

Ulrich looked at her blankly. "But why do I need this bag?"

Candy stopped, and turned around, a smile on her face. "Let me rephrase that. My mom wants to see you _dance_ again. We're going to her studio _to dance._"

…

Aelita was laying tummy-down on her bed, head resting on crossed arms. Yumi walked over to the bed and plopped down next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" Yumi asked.

Aelita was silent for a moment, deep in thought. "I was just thinking. I must have _some_ relatives. _Some _sort of family besides my mother and father."

Yumi considered this. "Well, we don't have anything going on today. We could go break into the town hall and check out the records and stuff."

…

(This is from the beginning of the chapter that Candy's illness is revealed)

Vanessa pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Hello?" Vanessa was silent for a moment as she listened to the other end.

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and her face turned pale. _"What!"_

The others watched her in confusion.

Vanessa was staring in shock straight ahead as she listened to the other line. "Oh my _god…_ok…yeah…we'll be there in a minute."

Vanessa hung up and returned her phone to her pocket. Her eyes returned to the others.

"Who was that?" Odd asked.

"And what happened?" Aelita said, grasping Odd's arm.

"That was Yumi." Vanessa stared at them for a moment.

"Candy's in the hospital."

…

"Maybe we should just break up!" She screamed.

His footsteps stopped, and he remained with his back to her.

"Maybe we should." He said quietly before walking away.

…

Vanessa slowly scooted backwards, away from _him_, until her back hit the wall. She starred in shock.

"S-S-Steven?"

…

(This one is **not** referring to Odd and Vanessa)

"Maybe I do still have feelings for you." She said looking down.

He watched her, a soft smile forming on his lips. "I was feeling the same way you were back in the fall. But, I realized that the feeling I had, it wasn't the kind of love that you have for a girlfriend. It was the kind of love you have for a sister."

She thought about this for a moment, and then smiled. "You know what? That's exactly how I'd describe it. I love you like a brother."

…

She walked through the soft green grass, passing numerous tomb stones as she went along. She skimmed each stone quickly, moving on when she didn't find the name she was looking for.

Finally, she found the tomb stone. The tomb stone was shiny in the morning sun, the marble smooth and new. The light illuminated the letters engraved in the stone, the letters that spelled the deceased's name.

She softly whispered the name, before collapsing in front of the grave, sobbing. She angrily clenched fistfuls of dirt above the grave. Dirt that was new, just put there. The grave was after all, buried yesterday at the funeral.

Remembering her purpose of being there, she stood up and regained herself, brushing the dirt from her clothes. She pulled out the red carnation and gently set it on the grave, before turning around and walking away from her friend's grave.

…

Odd held onto her arm with both hands, trying to hoist her back up onto the platform. She whimpered and tried to glance back down at the digital sea, but the position she was in would only make her fall if she turned her head. She could hear the grumbling of another platform coming around, but it sounded far away.

Odd grunted as he tried to pull her up, his grip slipping. He gasped when he saw the key rolling towards the edge, towards the digital sea.

Odd heard her take a quick intake of breath as well. She could see it to.

Odd's eyes returned to hers, there gaze locked.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, gaze never leaving hers.

She watched him for a second, before speaking. "Yes."

And with that, he let go of her arm, diving for the key as she plummeted down.

…

Ulrich adjusted his hold on the key under one arm while the other remained glued to the over bike handles. He glanced down over the side of the over bike at the digital sea below him. He was airborne with the bike in flying mode, but that didn't stop the creatures that were apparently capable of flight as well.

Ulrich yanked the handle bars of the over bike, jerking to the right in a sharp turn. It didn't slow the creatures down though. They were agile and fast, and right on his tail.

With the digital sea below him, the monsters behind him and the digital fire wall about twenty feet in front of him, he was trapped.

Nowhere to turn.

Too late to change directions.

So he jumped.

Leaping from the over bike into the digital air as the bike and monsters went into the fire wall, disintegrating in a huge explosion.

Sailing through the air and screaming _"Odd, catch!" _as he threw the key in the direction that he had last seen Odd.

Falling through the digital atmosphere in relief as he saw Odd rocketing towards the key on the overboard.

Plummeting towards the digital sea, silently praying that Yumi and the over wing would be there in time to catch him.

But he was ok.

Ok with the fact that he might die.

Because he would die fighting for what he believed in, die for billions of people, and die for the fall of Xana.

And that, in his opinion, was the best way to die.

…

Odd raised his clenched fist.

Time was running out. He had to do it now. He had to shoot Xana with the explosive arrow so Aelita could get through, and end this once and for all.

But as Vanessa fought one on one with Xana, Odd came to a horrified realization.

He realized that Vanessa was too close to Xana.

Realized that she was close enough that the blast from the explosion would wipe her out, and possibly disintegrate her DNA.

Realized that if her were to shoot it before the time ran out, Vanessa wouldn't be able to get far enough away from the blast zone even if he told her to run.

"Odd!"

Odd looked over at Yumi who was fighting for her life against the monsters.

"Do it now Odd!" Yumi shrieked. "Time's almost out!"

"But, Vanessa," Odd began.

"Odd, you have to do it _now_!" Yumi screamed.

Odd glanced at Vanessa who was still struggling against Xana.

"Odd!"

A tear ran down his cheek as he raised his fist, and shot the arrow.

…

"Aelita! Go!" He screamed and pushed Aelita foreword. The monsters jumped onto his back, tearing at his flesh.

Aelita ran foreword onto the platform. Her feet pounding on the surface as she raced for the center. Her friend's aching screams ripping through the air as the monsters slowly tried to kill them.

And when she finally reached the middle, finally reached the white glowing orb in the center, finally started to reach for it…

…

**:) Reveiw**


	42. Chapter 42: Something New

**Okie Dokie! I've decided that the Halloween chapter will be posted near Halloween! And it won't be just one chapter, nope. It will be a group of several chapters that form the Halloween Special. Sorry to everyone that wanted it to be posted sooner, but I guess you'll just have to deal.**

**Looking at the reviews… :) You guys worry too much. I don't want to give anything away… but look at what genre this is. Romance and Suspense. Do you see tragedy anywhere? Remember: I love to lead you on. Remember chapter 39? Chapter 24? Chapter 25? **

**On with the chapter!**

Vanessa groggily walked into the gym. The cheerleaders and boys varsity soccer team had been called for a meeting at six o'clock in the morning.

Vanessa spotted Yumi, Ulrich, Colin and Candy sitting in the bleachers, and began climbing towards them. She managed to bump into seven people on her way up; she wasn't fully awake.

Vanessa sat down next to Colin and literally fell against him.

"Whoa. A little anxious are we?" Colin smirked at her.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "No, I'm tired. Now shut up and be a good pillow."

Colin chuckled and threw his arm around her. "Whatever you say, Blondie."

"What's this meeting for anyways?" Vanessa mumbled into his shirt.

Yumi, Ulrich, Colin and Candy stared at her.

Candy finally spoke. "You don't know?"

Vanessa shook her head.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "But you're co-captain. Aren't you supposed to know?"

Vanessa shrugged, pulling away from Colin. "I don't know. It's not like Kylie tells me anything."

Speak of the devil; Kylie was now standing in front of the bleachers. She was standing beside Conner, captain of the boys soccer team.

"Ok kiddies!" Kylie shouted at everyone in the bleachers. Everyone quickly became silent.

Conner took a step forward. "As you all know, we have a big game against Lakeport coming up this Friday."

"So to show our spirit and honor tradition," Kylie smiled. "Each of you boys is going to give your jersey to a cheerleader of your choice so that she can wear it during school and return it to you before the game."

"And in return," Conner said. "The boy will wear the cheerleader's hair bow on his wrist during school and return it to her before the game."

"Obviously, the captains will be swapping because of tradition." Kylie giggled as she wrapped her arms around Conner.

From a row of bleachers above the gang, Alyssa and a few others of the cheerleaders snickered.

"Yeah, it's because of tradition." Alyssa muttered sarcastically. Yumi smiled and held her palm out behind her, and Alyssa slapped it.

Their attention was drawn back to Conner. "So, you have until Friday to decide who you'll swap with. Until then, have fun and good luck for the game!"

The gym immediately filled with chatter. Boys approached girls, and girls excitedly talked amongst themselves, hoping a cute boy would ask them. Several boys came up to Candy and asked her if she'd swap with them, but she turned them all down. When Jason, the goalie, approached her and asked if she wanted to wear his jersey, Candy nodded her head, smiling. She had immediately bonded with Jason when she had first arrived at the school. They both had almost every class together, and formed a close friendship. He wasn't arrogant like the other boys. He didn't try to hit on her because she was hot. No. He just saw a bubbly personality, someone that would be a great friend.

It was obvious that Ulrich and Yumi would swap, but that didn't stop Sissi from asking.

"Ulrich dear, would you like to swap with me?" Sissi said, fluttering her eye lashes.

Ulrich smirked. "Sure Sissi."

"Really?"

"Nope."

They started laughing, and Sissi angrily marched away.

Colin turned to Vanessa. "So, when do you want me to give you it?"

Vanessa smiled, deciding to play it koi. "Give me what?"

Colin gently reached up and pulled a curl of her blond hair, then letting go, causing it to spring back up. "My jersey."

Vanessa smirked. "And what makes you so sure I want to swap with you?"

Colin smirked, and continued playing with strands of her hair. "Oh… you know. Cause I'm funny… cute… smart."

Vanessa's smirk turned into a broad smile. "I can't argue with the first two, but that last one is debatable."

Colin laughed, and then lowered his blue eyes back down to hers. "So, do you want to swap?"

Vanessa smiled for what felt like the billionth time. "I'd love to."

…

Later That day…

Yumi, Candy, Vanessa and Jeremie watched as Aelita placed another piece of gum in her mouth, joining the huge wad of pink that was already in there.

"You know Aelita, you only need to chew one piece at a time." Vanessa smirked.

Aelita looked at Vanessa blankly. "But it's so good!"

Yumi rolled her eyes and smiled, before taking a bite out of her apple. Her eyes drifted up towards the cafeteria doors, where coincidentally, Odd and Ulrich were entering from.

Ulrich and Odd marched over to them, both proudly holding orange slips of paper in their hands.

Odd sat down next to Aelita, and grabbed several sticks of gum before shoving them in his mouth.

Aelita shot a look at Vanessa. "See!"

Vanessa sighed and dropped her head to the table.

Ulrich sat down next to Yumi, gently kissing her on the cheek.

Yumi smiled at him. "What are you so happy about?"

Ulrich dropped the two orange slips of paper on the table so Yumi could see them.

Yumi carefully read one of them before gasping. "You got them?"

Ulrich smiled. "Yep."

"But they haven't gone on sale yet!"

Ulrich was about to explain when Vanessa cut in. "What are you guys talking about?"

Yumi smiled. "Ulrich got tickets to Boo Bash."

Vanessa and Candy stared at her blankly.

"What's Boo Bash?" Candy asked.

The gang smiled. Odd began to explain. "Well, every October our neighboring town, Maplewood, goes all out for the month."

Jeremie nodded. "The town was founded years ago sometime in October, so they see the month of October and Halloween as the biggest time of the year. Bigger than Christmas."

Ulrich took a bite out of the apple Yumi was eating. "And they don't call it October, they call it Shocktober."

Candy smiled. "That's so cool."

Yumi stole her apple back from Ulrich. "It gets better. All month they have hayrides and haunted houses, parties and events…"

"Especially the week before Halloween." Odd cut in. "_Halloweek_. During that week, the tickets for the Williamson Haunted Hayrides are sold at a discount, the Jefferson Haunted House entry fee is only ten dollars…"

"And you know Conner? Our soccer team captain?" Ulrich asked. "Well he throws a party during Halloweek at one of the clubs his dad owns."

Yumi cut back in, eager to talk about Halloweek. "And it all starts on Monday, the 27th, with a charity run to find the cause of leukemia."

Candy's head shot up. "Cool. I'm defiantly doing it."

Odd nodded. "We all do it every year."

Vanessa finally huffed. "That all sound's dandy, but I'm not hearing anything about a Boo Bash."

Ulrich smiled, putting his arm around Yumi. "On the night before Halloween, the Anderson's throw a HUGE Halloween party at their mansion. It's called the Boo Bash."

Jeremie nodded. "They're extremely wealthy and their mansion is about 1.72 times bigger than Kadic Academy."

Vanessa's eyes widened. "Holy shit! It's that big?"

Ulrich snickered. "Yeah. The Della Robia Estate is only 1.62 times as big." He said jokingly, even though it kind of was true.

"Anyways…"Jeremie went on. "Tickets to the Boo Bash are really expensive. They usually sell for about 80 dollars per ticket. 70 dollars if you're friends of the family."

"As If they need MORE money." Yumi spat sarcastically. Ulrich silenced her with a soft kiss on her forehead.

Candy turned to Ulrich. "You spent more than one hundred dollars on those tickets?"

Ulrich smiled. "Nope. Together, these tickets cost me fifty bucks."

Everyone but Odd gaped at him.

Yumi knit her eyebrows together. "How'd you get them so cheap?"

Ulrich pointed to Odd. "With a little help from the odd ball."

Aelita looked at Odd and squealed when she saw the two orange tickets in his hand. When she was done hugging him, Odd turned to the others to explain.

"Well, you all know my ex girlfriend Sam right? Well, yesterday I went to see her to buy two tickets for a sub-digitals concert for me and Aelita."

Vanessa wrinkled her nose. She wasn't exactly fond of the idea that Odd was illegally buying stuff from Sam.

Odd glanced at Vanessa. "Don't worry sour pus, Sam doesn't steal stuff anymore. She just has…_connections._ But anyways, I was talking with her at the skate park, and turns out she sold her last sub digitals ticket and wouldn't be able to get more for months. She felt bad, so she told me that she had some Boo Bash tickets that she wasn't planning on selling till next week when the demand was higher. So I told her I'd come by today with my man Ulrich here so we could buy some tickets."

Odd finished his story with a proud smile. "Oh, and she said that she'd sell to the rest of you guys too, if you want to buy from her."

The others were silent, considering it.

Jeremie looked up. "And you're sure she didn't steal these? That these are quality tickets and not fake and/or copied ones?"

Odd's hand shot to his chest, in fake surprise. "I am ashamed that you would think I'd buy from a criminal."

Odd started laughing, but quickly stopped when he realized he was the only one doing so. "Yes, I am sure that she is selling real tickets that she didn't steal. Like I said before, Sam simply has connections. Her uncle is best friends with one of the Anderson's butlers or something."

Everyone accepted this, and they agreed to meet after school to take a cab over to the skate park so they could talk to Sam.

Vanessa glanced up at something, and smiled. She excused herself from the table and began to walk away.

The other's eyes travelled over to what Vanessa was looking at.

Colin was standing by the cafeteria door, motioning for Vanessa to come over.

Yumi smirked. "Where ya going V?"

Vanessa smiled over her shoulder. "Colin and I are going to go kick a soccer ball around. I'll catch you and Candy later in History!" Vanessa waved good bye and smiled at Colin who was holding the door open for her. She walked out, and Colin followed her sweet.

**Yeah, it's a pretty short chapter. Its main purpose is to foreshadow the things that are happening in the later chapters, and to explain the Halloween situation. Oh, and get ready for the next chapter, a fun little chapie dedicated to all my Vanessa x Colin fans! :)**


	43. Chapter 43: Until That Day Comes

**Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. CRAP! You guys are on to me!**

_**Private Message received earlier: **__I think I might know what your name is. Is your name the name of one of the Della Robia daughters you made?_

**The answer is yes. My name is the name of one of the Della Robia daughters I've created. Whoever can guess my name first wins a free one-shot written by me with any couple. One guess per person, and if you break this rule I will only take into account your first guess. Good luck!**

There was something special about him.

She knew it ever since they had first met, back when her hair was still died black. She had been reading a book as she walked down the school stairs, and had stumbled foreword, almost falling down the steps. A pair of arms had wrapped around her waist from behind, and steadied her. She had turned around and thanked the cute guy that had helped her, and he replied "No problem."

He then eyed her up and down, before settling back on her eyes. He was smirking. "Bet I can guess your real hair color, Blondie."

She returned the smirk. "Bet I can guess where you're from, NY Jerk."

After that, they had immediately bonded.

Yup.

There was defiantly something special about him.

Maybe it was the way he flipped his bangs out of his eyes. A simple flick of his chin to the left, never to the right.

Or maybe it was the fact that his hair was too long in general. Several inches of caramel-chocolate hair that flipped out perfectly at his chin. She had the urge to run her hand through it, to feel its silkiness between her fingers. Ulrich liked to make fun of him for using conditioner, but she thought that if anything, ALL boys should use conditioner if they wanted a girlfriend.

Maybe it was the subtlety of his flirting. It was alluring, the way he would gently tug on a curl of her hair, just to watch it spring perfectly back into place. His interactions with her were casual enough that they seemed like something best friends would do, but he had a way of sprinkling love on her, and only her.

Or perhaps it was the way he made her sense of subconsciousness disappear with the simple brush of his fingers. On the few occasions when they were alone, he would gently reach his hand up and brush aside her blond/purple bangs that half-hid her scar. He would trail his index and middle finger down the length of the broken skin, leaving a feeling of warmth wherever his fingers touched. He would then let his hand linger there, gently caressing her face, before smirking. He would whisper how cool the scar looked, before pulling his hand away.

Maybe it was the blueness of his eyes. They were midnight blue, the color you see in the California skies late at night. They were mysterious and seemed to be animate, for they always seemed to be smiling even when his lips formed a frown.

Whatever the reason was, she knew one thing for certain.

There was defiantly some sort of connection between them.

He wasn't eager to form a relationship with her. If it made her happy, he was contempt with just being friends. He would still drop the subtle hints though, hints that showed his affection for her. He would subtlety make her feel special, loved, and cared for. If not verbally, then through his actions. He would wait until she was ready to start a relationship, to trust him with her well-being and heart. And he was ok with waiting. He understood that she had gone through a terrible experience with the last person she fell in love with. He understood that the best thing he could offer her was time. Time to consider it, time to learn to trust again, and time to learn to trust him.

And he was ok with that. They would be best friends until the day she was ready. And when that day came, he would lift her up in the air, spin her around, and tell her how much he cared for her. How much he wanted to protect her. How much he loved her.

But until that day came, he was perfectly contempt playing one vs one soccer with her, occasionally letting her fake him out, just so he could see that mischievous gleam in her violet eyes, and hear her yell at him for going easy on her.

**Ironically enough, five minutes before I posted this I was just skimming through it to check for errors, and I kind of noticed that the relationship between Colin and Vanessa is a lot like me and my best friend. Huh. Weird. It's strange how we unconsciously base relationships, friends, events, and emotions in our writing on things that happen in our everyday lives. **


	44. Chapter 44: Sam

**DEMONHEART002****- Thanks! But I'm nowhere near the record for most words. From what I've heard, the record is around 10 million words, held by the author of a 500 chapters long harry potter story.**

**Bluepatch****- Lol for the first thing. But idk, my best friend is more like my brother. And for the second thing… that's freak'n awesome! Yay I inspired someone! And for the third thing… yeah I told you in the Private Message.**

**LyokoWarrior915****- Agreed. And like I did with bluepatch, I responded to your guess Via PM.**

**YugiohObsessed****-**** Lol to your comments. It's fun to read them :)**

**Missed a . few things****- Hmm, I misspelled **_**ONE**_** word? Wow, maybe I should take longer to update my chapters so I can revise these "**_**HUGE"**_** errors. How about I spend three months on each chapter before posting to satisfy your compulsiveness? Oh, and I don't know where you're from, but here in New York we call it one vs. one, or just one V one. That's what the formal pronunciation of it is, as well as the slang. My **_**soccer coach **_**uses that term, as well as everyone else in New York. And since Colin is from NYC, it makes sense that his thoughts are in that format. Since I have made the decision to postpone the Halloween chapters, there's only going to be small-not-very-important- chapies for the next week or two because I don't want to introduce a huge event until after the Halloween episodes. Sorry I have to say all that to you in front of the rest of my readers, but since you didn't write your review under your membership name, I couldn't Private Message you.**

**Let that be a lesson to all my fans. I will not bash you if you write a negative, or semi-negative review under your username. You have every right to criticize, and I have respect for those who are brave enough to criticize my writing under their username. It takes a lot of courage to do that. But if you bash me and are too chicken to write it under your username, then be prepared for me to angrily respond in front of the rest of my readers. **

**Aside from that angry note, the name contest has been closed! The correct answer has been guessed! Make sure to check your PM inbox to see if you won!**

…

"Odd you're such an idiot."

"How was I supposed to know you can't fit seven people in a cab?"

…

After getting off the _bus,_ the gang made their way to the skate park.

Odd led them through the mass of ramps and railings, towards a metal bench on the other side. They crossed between two half pipes, and Odd started to yell to them over the loud music and scraping of boards. "Don't get to close to the edge guys!"

Ignoring Odd's warning, Ulrich took a step towards the edge to peer down into one of the half pipes. There was a loud scrape as a skateboarder flew up the side of the half pipe, flying into Ulrich and sending them both flailing back down into the half pipe where that landed with a thud.

"Ulrich!" Yumi screamed. She slid down the side of the half pipe, and the others followed her.

Ulrich and the skater lay sprawled on the curved cement bottom. Ulrich groaned and sat up, holding his head in his hand.

Odd smiled at Ulrich. "I tried to warn you."

Ulrich muttered something as he stood up, and reached his hand down to the skater to help him up.

"Sorry dude."

The skater smirked and took Ulrich's hand, and Ulrich pulled him up, surprised by how light he was. He had chocolate skin and thin limbs. He was wearing a red-white-and blue t shirt, navy skinny jeans and black high tops, sunglasses and a red helmet. As Ulrich pulled him up, the t-shirt shifted at the change of positions, pulling tighter around the chest, and Ulrich blushed, realizing his mistake in calling the skater a 'dude.'

The skater was a girl.

She pulled the red helmet off, freeing her long waves of dark brown hair that had red and blue streaks in it, and finally, she pulled off the sunglasses.

Ulrich stood in shock as recognition hit him.

The girl smiled. "Well, well, well. I haven't seen you in a while…Ulrich."

Ulrich smiled. "Nice to see you Sam."

Sam nodded at him and turned to Odd.

Odd smirked. "Sorry Sam, Ulrich has become a bit clumsy since the last time you saw him."

Sam cringed a bit, remembering that the last time she had seen Ulrich was the day that Odd had dumped her for not passing on an important message. She shook her head. That was then, this was now.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, I noticed that when I saw him pop out three feet in front of me."

They all laughed. Odd began to point out everyone.

"You remember Ulrich, and I assume you remember Yumi and Jeremie."

Sam nodded and waved at Yumi. She turned to Jeremie and smiled a bit, remembering how he taught her about the electrics of DJ-ing.

Ulrich pointed at Vanessa. "And, you met Vanessa a long time ago when you visited me in California."

Vanessa smiled. "I don't know if you remember me. You were seven when we met."

Sam broke into a broad smile. "How could I forget you? You spilled salsa on me in your backyard."

Vanessa laughed. "Actually, that was Laura."

Sam nodded her head in realization. "Righhhhht. The goth one."

Odd shook his head. "No, Laura's the hippie. Jessie's the goth one."

Sam blinked blankly, and then her eyes lit up with realization. "Oh yeah. Laura's the dirty blonde."

Odd smiled sadly. "Molly's the dirty blonde."

Sam knit her eye brows together. "But, isn't Molly like, two? She wasn't born yet when I visited you."

Odd chuckled. "No…you're thinking of Mia."

Sam starred at him for a moment, before throwing her hands up in defeat. "Christ Odd! You have too many sisters!"

They all laughed. Then Odd pointed at Candy. "And that's Vanessa's roommate, Candy. An illegal immigrant that is the creation of an Irish gypsy and a Hispanic computer scientist."

Candy shoved Odd. "Odd, I'm not an illegal immigrant, and my mom is a dance instructor, not a gypsy."

Sam laughed and looked at Aelita. "And the girl with the awesome pink dye job must be your girlfriend."

Odd nodded and gently put his arm around Aelita's waist, pulling her closer to him. "Aelita, and it's natural."

Sam marveled at how Odd treated Aelita. He seemed to really care for her; Sam could tell just by the way Odd looked at Aelita. He loved her. He took care of her like a precious Jem. Thinking about Jems, Sam made a note to bug Odd about buying a wedding ring from her if he ever planned to propose to the pinkette.

Sam shook herself out of her thoughts as she realized their surroundings. Skaters were whizzing by them, angrily shouting at them to get out of the way, and showing some not so nice hand gestures.

Sam jolted her head towards the bench. "Let's do business over there." She popped her skateboard up, and grabbed it with her hand.

The gang followed Sam out of the half pipe and towards the bench. Her plaid red bag was behind it, along with the other skaters back packs. Sam grabbed her back pack and sat down on the bench, pulling her bag into her lap and opening it. The others gathered around her.

"Ok, I got three tickets to Boo Bash for you guys." Sam said as she pulled the tickets from her bag.

"How much?" Jeremie asked. Odd had warned them that Sam might have upped the price, depending on how many other people were interested in buying the tickets.

"Thirty bucks each." Sam said. Jeremie, Candy and Vanessa sighed, happy that the price hadn't gone up too much.

"And, these are real, quality tickets, right?" Jeremie asked.

Sam nodded.

Vanessa handed Sam her money, and Sam handed her the ticket. She looked at Candy. Candy had knit her eyebrows together, deep in thought. She peaked at Jeremie, who was watching her, waiting for her decision. Candy finally gave Sam the money, and Jeremie followed.

Sam handed them the tickets smiling. "Nice doing business with you."

As she pulled out her wallet to put the money in, several slips of paper fell out, fluttering to the ground at the base of Candy and Yumi's feet.

"Candy, Yumi, can you grab those?" Sam asked as she struggled with the wallet.

The girls nodded, kneeling down to grab them. They were actually business cards, each for some wacky business Sam had connections with.

Yumi examined one of the business cards. It was electric purple with black lightning bolts. "Sam, what's this one for?" Candy curiously gazed over Yumi's shoulder, her amber hair flowing with Yumi's black.

Sam knelt down beside them, and after reading the card, smiled. "That's my friends company. E.I.C. It stands for Expression, Inspiration, Change. It's this cool business where you can get your hair died, a tattoo, or piercings, and then 80% of your money goes to a charity of your choice."

Sam flicked her blue and red highlights. "My money went to kids in Africa."

Candy and Yumi starred at the card in awe. Yumi looked up at Sam. "Do you have any extras of these you could give us?"

Sam nodded and dug around in her back pack, before handing them two purple cards.

Odd smirked. "Ha. And you guys thought I was lying. I told you guys Sam had connections!"

Ulrich glared at his best friend. "Yeah, just like you told us seven people could fit in a cab."

"Shut it Ulrich!"

…

Sam and Odd sat under the maple tree, quietly eating their frozen treats. They had all gone out to get ice cream before the gang had to go back to Kadic.

Odd and Sam watched the others goofing off near the pond. Aelita held her strawberry ice cream cone in one hand, while she held a handful of duck food in the other. Aelita tossed the food into the pond, and several of the ducks came swimming over, quacking happily. Aelita laughed, and reached her hand back into the bag of duck food like the others were doing.

Odd smiled at her with admiration. She was adorable, kind spirited, joyful and fun. She had the spirit of a child, just like him.

"You really love her, don't you?" Sam said. She licked her Vanilla ice cream cone.

Odd didn't hesitate. "Yes. More than I love skate boarding, art, guitar, and even my precious Kiwi. I'd even say I love her more than food."

Sam laughed. "More than _food?_ Man. I didn't even get close to that."

Odd's breath hitched, feeling bad for expressing his love of Aelita to his ex. "Sam…"

Sam held up her hand. "Save it. I'm over it, remember? I wouldn't be the top supplier if I wasn't."

Odd smirked. "You sound like your describing yourself as a drug dealer or something."

Sam laughed. "Whatever. Isn't that your little illegal immigrant's job or something?"

It was Odd's turn to laugh. "Candy takes so many doctors prescribed- over the counter meds that I wouldn't be surprised if she had some illegal ones thrown in."

They laughed for a moment, before Odd decided to be a better friend. "But seriously. Candy's too well risen to get into that stuff."

Sam was silent a moment, deep in thought. Odd let her think for a moment. He knew Sam well enough to know that she would eventually share her thoughts. She was very foreword, and would often speak her mind.

"Odd?"

"Yeah?"

Sam fingered her melting ice cream cone. "Is there something wrong with Candy? Like, does she have Cancer or something?"

Odd was so stunned by the question, that he almost dropped his ice cream cone. _Almost. _He turned to Sam. "What?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm just curious."

Odd starred at her. "Why would you think Candy has Cancer?"

Sam shook her head. "You can see that there's something wrong. Sure, at first glance she looks perfect. But, just take a closer look."

Odd settled back against the tree trunk, watching Candy. He didn't see what Sam was talking about. Candy looked perfect. Then he really tried to see what Sam was talking about.

And he was a little surprised.

He realized how skinny Candy was compared to Yumi and Vanessa. How, even at five foot six, Candy was probably the same weight as Aelita. Her skin had actually paled out quite a bit, and her red hair didn't seem to have the same healthy glow it did a month ago. Her turquoise eyes had assuaged over time, and very light, (and only barely visible) dark circles formed under her eyes. Her confident scribes had shortened, and her shoulders slouched a bit when she was sitting.

Odd's eyes returned to Sam's. "Y-You really think there might be something wrong with her?" Odd whispered.

Sam shrugged. "I could be wrong. I probably am. She seems like a happy person, as far from sick as you can get."

But that's just it. When you're really, really sick, you tend to try and hide it by creating a perfect image. Something so perfect that people don't think there's anything wrong. But that's the problem. Perfection isn't natural; it isn't normal. We try to make ourselves perfect to blend in, but we only end up standing out, and people get suspicious. Suspicious that you really _aren't_ perfect.

So does that mean that perfection means being flawed? That being normal is an impossible thing to achieve, because it takes perfection to be perfectly normal? That being flawed is actually being normal, and that being really different, is actually _perfect?_

_What?_

**I'll let you in on a little secret. I have VERY subtly foreshadowed later events in this chapter. But don't be fooled! I like to set up red herrings! **


	45. Chapter 45: Halloween part 1

**Bump bump, bump bump! This chapter marks the beginning of the five part Halloween special! Yeah!**

**Just so you know, in code Lyoko land Halloween is on a Saturday, so this chapter takes place on a Monday, five days before their Halloween and ours :)**

"Can we go home?"

"Odd, stop complaining. It's for charity."

The early morning wind whipped through the crowded mall parking lot. Hundreds of people had shown up to participate in the Shocktober Shock-walk to find the cure to Leukemia. The sun was just rising, but the cold was brutal. A band was playing on a stage that had been set up earlier, and various tents dotted the huge parking lot, selling hotdogs, cotton candy, water, and other food.

Aelita shivered. "Where's Yumi and Ulrich with our hot chocolate?" She rubbed her arms with her mittened hands, trying to warm herself up. She was wearing a grey hoodie and pink sweatpants. A dark pink hat sat snug over her pink hair that was tied in a low pony tail.

"I don't know, but they left awhile ago." Vanessa said. She was wearing a maroon jacket and grey sweatpants, her blonde hair up in a pony tail.

Aelita nodded and continued running her hands up and down her arms. Odd smiled at her. He had on a black hoodie and purple sweatpants. Odd and Candy were sitting on the back edge of an upper class mans pick-up truck. Odd slid off the truck and started rubbing his hands up and down Aelita's arm's, trying to warm her up. She blushed. Although they had been dating for a few months, his actions still left her breathless.

"When does the race start?" Candy asked. She was wearing a over sized neon green sweat shirt and navy running shorts, black under armor pants on underneath.

Jeremie glanced at his watch. He was wearing a red sweatshirt and black sweat pants. "Its 7:45. We have to line up at 7:55, and the race starts at 8:00."

"But I'm freezing!" Vanessa shrieked. She wrapped her arms around herself, and quickly shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Where the hell are Yumi and Ulrich with my hot chocolate?"

"Hey! This is a charity event! Let's keep the swearing to a minimum."

The five turned to Yumi and Ulrich, quickly finding them in the sea of people. Ulrich had on a dark green hat, dark green hoodie, and navy sweat pants. Yumi had on a tight light blue sweat shirt and navy shorts, with black under armor pants underneath. They both were carrying trays that held cups full of hot chocolate.

"Thank god." Aelita muttered, grabbing a hot chocolate and pulling it to her lips.

"What took you?" Odd asked as he took a hot chocolate from Ulrich's tray.

Ulrich shrugged. "The line was long."

Jeremie nodded and took a hot chocolate from Yumi's tray. "There _are_ a lot of people here."

The Shock-walk was held every year five days before Halloween. Most of the years it would be held on a week day because of this, but that wasn't an issue for the kids at Kadic. The Kadic superintendent was brothers with Tim Crosby, the man who had created the Shock-walk. The kids had a field trip to Maple Wood on this day so they could all participate in the shock walk.

"Racers!" Everyone's attention turned to the stage, where a man was talking into the microphone. "Please approach the starting line! Runners up front, joggers in the middle, and walkers in the back! The race starts in five minutes."

Candy slid off the truck and they started walking towards the crowd of people forming near the starting line. They passed a trash can and tossed out their empty hot chocolates.

When they got to the crowd, they stopped.

Candy and Yumi took a step away. "Candy and I are going to run it." Yumi said.

Candy nodded. "We're going to try and win our age division."

"Alright." Odd said. "The rest of us are gonna jog it."

"Ok see you guys after the race!" Yumi and Candy waved before jogging over to the front, while the rest of the gang made their way into the middle.

"Alright racers!" One of the men from the bands was standing on the stage next to the starting line. The noise started to die down as everyone started to listen.

The man smiled into the microphone. He was very lively and enthusiastic. "Now I'm sure ya'll know me, but I'll say ma name any way. SHAWN, BLAAAAAACK!" The crowd erupted in cheers and woops. Apparently, this guy was very popular.

"Now, ya'll give it up for the creator of Shock-walk and my personal friend, TIM, CROSBYYYYYY!"

A cheer erupted through the crowd as a man in his thirties bounded up the stage steps, slapping kid's outstretched hands as he went. He was very energetic for his age. He took the mike from Shawn, who slapped him on the back in a friendly manner.

"Perfect day for a run right?" Tim asked in the microphone.

Everyone laughed as they pulled their sweat shirts tighter around themselves.

"Well, it doesn't matter how bad the weather is, because what you guys are doing, is terrific. Ten years ago, my daughter, Alisha Crosby died of Leukemia. It happened instantly, with no warning at all. The day before it happened, she had been feeling sick. She had told me, "Daddy? No one should have to feel this yucky. When I get better, can we do something to help other kids with Leukemia?" So I created the Shock-walk to fulfill my daughter's final wish. And here we are, ten years later, and I am proud to say that we have raised billions of dollars over the years!"

Another cheer swept through the crowd and Tim Crosby smiled.

"Alright! Let's get this thing started!"

Another cheer rocked the crowd as everyone turned to face the starting line. Shawn Black took the mike again.

"On yer marks!"

"Get set!"

Shawn Black gave the mike to Tim and covered his ears. Tim pulled an air horn up to the microphone, and blew it, signaling the start of the race.

…

"Do you see Candy or Yumi up ahead?" Aelita asked the others. Her feet padded along the pavement as she and the others (and the other hundreds of people) ran along the road. They had been running for a while, and hadn't seen either of the girls.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Aelita, they're freak'n _sprinting_ the thing. They're probably already done with it."

Odd groaned. "But that's not fair! They're done, and we're only at the two mile mark!"

Ulrich glared at his friend. "Like Vanessa just said, they are _sprinting _this, and you and Jeremie are pretty much walking it."

Jeremie glanced up at Ulrich. "Do _not_ drag me into this."

Ulrich glared back at him. "I'm just saying. You two are soo slow."

Odd glared at Ulrich. "Hey, I could sprint this if I wanted to. I could probably beat you."

"Yeah me to!" Jeremie yelled.

And with that the boys shot ahead, pushing each other and trying to beat the other two.

"Guys, come on! Stop acting like children!" Vanessa screamed. She ran ahead to catch up with them, leaving Aelita behind.

Aelita stopped. "Thanks a lot guys!" She yelled. A few people running behind her had to maneuver around the screaming girl; one of them even told her to get out of the way.

Aelita angrily walked over to the side of the road and sat down on the curb. She was tired and her feet hurt. The fall wind whipped at her face, and Aelita pulled her hat tighter over her ears.

"Maybe one of those race patrol golf carts will come by." Aelita muttered to herself.

Something flashed in the edge of her peripheral vision. Aelita quickly turned her head to see what it was, but it was already gone. Whatever it was, had disappeared into the alley.

Aelita starred at the alleyway. It was between two really old buildings. _Really _old.

She turned away, and there was another flash from the alley. She turned in time to see a white figure move back into the shadows.

Curiosity getting the best of her, she stood. Aelita carefully walked into the darkness of the alley, the shadows swallowing her. She stood still for a moment, letting her eyes adjust. Junk littered the alleys, trash cans, tires, random pipes of metal, and even an old sofa. Boarded up windows ran up the sides of the buildings, going all the way to at least forty feet above her. Aelita began to move forward.

"Hello?" She whispered.

The alley was quiet. Aelita timidly walked forward. She started to worry. "Is anyone there?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something white flash by. Aelita spun around, jumping into a battle stance. But nothing was there.

She stared for a while longer, before turning back to where she had been looking before.

Her heart literally stopped.

She screamed, and fell back.

A small girl was standing before her. Her hair was blonde, almost white, and ran down her back. She was wearing a white night gown that almost reached her bare feet. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were grey.

Aelita starred at the girl, and the girl starred back.

Unable to figure out what the heck was going on, Aelita glanced behind her to make sure she wasn't on one of those prank tv shows. Seeing nothing but the street full of runners behind her, she turned back to the girl.

But she was gone.

Aelita turned around to leave the creepy alley, and almost screamed again.

The little girl was right there.

Shocked, and a little bit angry, Aelita began to yell. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"She took a step forward, and stumbled over a metal pipe.

The little girl smiled and started to giggle.

Aelita took in the fact that this was a _child_. Realizing that an empty alley was defiantly _not_ a place where little girls should be lurking, Aelita knelt down on one knee so she was eye level with the girl.

"Sweetie, why are you here?" Aelita asked softly.

The little girl looked at her blankly. Then, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, she said lightly. "Cause I can't leave yet."

Aelita looked at her in confusion. "You can't leave yet?" She repeated.

The girl shook her head. Her white hair eerily swayed back and forth as she did. "Not til I tell him that is not his fault."

Aelita starred at the child, and decided to play along. "So, why don't you tell him?"

The little girl giggled. "I'm not 'loud to, silly." She moved past Aelita, deeper into the alley. Aelita shivered when the girl did. Turning around to the girl, Aelita was shocked to see that she had already disappeared.

"Wait!" Aelita yelled as she ran deeper into the alley. She looked back and forth, trying to find the girl. She almost screamed again when the girl was beside her.

"What?" The little girl asked. It was hard to tell because her voice was so soft, but she almost sounded whiny when she asked the question.

"What's your name?" Aelita asked.

The little girl started moving backwards, moving deeper into the shadows. "Ally." She whispered before being fully engulfed by the shadows.

"Wait!" Aelita yelled again. She moved forward, reaching out, trying to grab the child, and was confused when she hit the solid bricks of the building. "Ally?"

"Whaaat?" This time, Aelita could defiantly detect some whininess in her voice. She turned in various directions, unaware of where the child was because her voice was echoing through the alley.

Aelita gasped when she spotted the girl. The little girl was perched on one of the window sills, forty feet up.

"Oh my gosh!" Aelita yelled. "Get down from there! You could fall and get hurt!"

The little girl giggled, her laughter echoing through the alley.

"Aelita?"

Aelita turned to the familiar voice. Odd was jogging into the alley, having spotted her.

"Odd! Help! There's a little girl up on…" But when Aelita turned and pointed to the window sill, the little girl, was gone.

…

"No Aelita. I don't see any Xana activity." Jeremie said as he checked his phone once again.

"Are you sure Jeremie? If Aelita said she saw something, she probably did." Odd muttered.

After the race, they had all found each other and Aelita told the others what had happened.

"I'm sure you guys. The super scan on my phone is just as good as the one on my lap top." Jeremie said.

"But, the little girl, she was…" Aelita stopped, processing what she was going to say. "The girl, wasn't a normal girl. She was, pale, and eerily, and like, appeared out of nowhere. And she was on the ground one second, and on a forty foot window sill the next."

Yumi shrugged. "It's Halloween. Someone might of just been pulling a prank."

Ulrich nodded. "Or your mind was just playing tricks on you."

Odd smiled. "Or treats."

The gang looked at him blankly.

"You know, _trick _or _treat_?" Odd burst out laughing and the others groaned in annoyance.

"Come on." Vanessa muttered. "Let's go over to the stage. They should be giving Candy a prize by now."

Candy had won their division. She had beat Yumi by about a minute and a half. When the gang had found Yumi, she was sitting on the grass with Candy, drinking from a bottle of water. Yumi had looked at them, lazily closed her eyes and said "The girl can _run_."

The gang walked over to the stage. As they moved their way through the crowd, they caught a little bit of a conversation between two older ladies.

"_Yeah, Tim Crosby's daughter, lil' Alisha. Used to babysit her. Such a shame that she passed away. She was the sweetest thing. Giggled all the time. She was adorably stubborn. She hated her name, wanted to change it to Al, or Lee, or something like that."_


	46. Chapter 46: Halloween Part 2

**For all you wondering about Candy's illness… it will be revealed a few chapters after the last Halloween chapter!**

**The website mentioned in this chapter is not a real website, I just made it up, and I'm not trying to promote any websites.**

**BTW, I changed the name of the hayrides the kids are going to.**

"Ok, so what do you get when you cross an elephant, with a rhino?" Odd asked Yumi as the two of them walked down the girl's hallway.

"Odd, I don't freak'n know, or care, but what do you get?" Yumi muttered.

" ell-if-i-know!" Odd burst out laughing.

Yumi rolled her eyes, but smiled a bit. Her aggressive nature made her think swearing jokes were funny. The two of them stopped at Aelita's door.

Odd brought his fist up to the wood and knocked. "Aelita? You decent?"

Yumi slapped him over the back of the head.

"Oww! What the heck was that for?" Odd whined, fixing his hair.

Yumi just shrugged and knocked on the door herself. "Aelita?"

Everything was quiet on the other side of the door.

Yumi and Odd glanced at each other in confusion. Yumi brought her hand to the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door open.

Aelita was asleep at her desk. Her laptop glowing from the research displayed on the screen.

"Hey, Aelita's turned into Jeremie!"

_Whack!_

"Yumi! What the heck!" Odd yelled as he rubbed the back of his head.

Yumi brought her finger to her lips and shushed him.

Odd glared at her and walked over to Aelita. He studied her for a moment before looking up at Yumi.

"Yep. Defiantly sleeping."

Yumi rolled her eyes.

Odd gently collected Aelita in his arms. He lifted her from the desk chair and took her over to her bed. He set her down and pulled the blankets over her, trying to make her comfy.

Yumi watched Odd in awe. It was amazing how he could go from stupid jokes mode, to boyfriend mode instantly.

Yumi sat down in Aelita's desk chair. She was about to exit out of the window Aelita had been reading from and shut down the lap top, but something caught her eye.

"Odd, come here and look at this."

Odd stood up from the bed and walked over to Yumi's side. He read the title's of some of the websites on the screen.

"Missing youngsters dot com? What's Aelita doing?"

Yumi shook her head, still looking at the computer. "I don't know…but you can ask her. We have to wake her up anyways."

Odd blinked. "Why?"

Yumi dropped her head to the desk. Stupid Odd mode just activated. "Odd, it's Tuesday. We have school in an hour."

Realization hit Odd. He sighed and glanced at Aelita. "But she's so cute when she's asleep."

Yumi smiled. Boyfriend mode was back. "Just do it Odd."

Odd walked over to Aelita's bed and knelt down. He stroked her pink hair. "Princess. Wake up…"

Aelita's eyes fluttered open. Their emerald color glowed in contrast with the rosiness of her face. "Odd…"

"And Yumi. So don't be _too_ lovey dovey." Yumi said from the desk chair. Her eyes were still glued to the computer screen.

Aelita glanced across the room to Yumi, then her eyes flashed back to Odd. "Does a quick kiss count as too lovey dovey?"

Odd smiled and leaned down. He gently pressed his lips to hers, and then lifted his head back up. "It's time to get out of bed, sleeping beauty."

Aelita smiled and rolled out of bed, Odd moving back and getting out of her way.

"Aelita, why were you searching missing kids last night?" Yumi asked. She pulled up a window that had dozens of pictures of missing girls.

Aelita walked up behind Yumi, peering over the older girls shoulder. "Just trying to figure out who the little girl was."

Odd peered over Yumi's other shoulder. He scanned the pictures of girls. "They're all pretty cute."

_Whack!_

Odd grasped the back of his head. "Owww! Yumi! What the hell! Why do you keep slapping me?"

Yumi rolled her eyes. "You're being disrespectful. Aelita's right there."

Odd blinked. "I meant they're cute in a little girl way! Like my little sister Mia! Jeez!"

Yumi ignored Odd. "Aelita, you're not gonna find the girl this way. There's at least a thousand girls on this page! You have to narrow down the search."

Aelita nodded and glanced at her clock. "Ok. But I have to get dressed. Odd…"

Odd frowned. "But I want to help find the missing girl."

Aelita starred at him. Finally, Odd broke. He sighed and left the room, closing the door.

Aelita smiled and went to her closet.

"Ok, what did she look like?" Yumi asked.

Aelita pulled her clothes from the closet. "Blonde. Blue eyes. Pale."

Yumi's fingers flew over the key pad. "How old did she look?"

Aelita thought about this. "Young. Like, five to eight years old."

Yumi continued her search. "And she said her name was Ally?"

"Yes."

Odd's muffled voice came from behind the door. "Don't forget she has extreme disappearing abilities!"

Yumi angrily grabbed one of Aelita's sneakers and chucked it at the closed door. It made a loud thud.

"Yumi! What the heck?" Odd's muffled voice shouted from the other side.

Yumi turned back to the lap top and continued her search.

She smiled to herself. "Ten results of blond haired, blue eyes, pale, five to eight year old girls missing in France named and/or nicknamed Ally."

Aelita, having finished getting dressed, walked over to the desk and observed Yumi's work.

"Any of these your girl?" Yumi asked.

Aelita studied each of them. She frowned. "No."

Yumi frowned to. "Ok, I'll broaden the search. Blonde haired, blue eyed, pale, _four _to _nine_ year old girls missing in _Europe_ named and/or nicknamed Ally. Search."

More than a hundred search results showed up. Yumi sighed. "Why are so many girls missing in Europe?" She shut the lap top.

Aelita shrugged. "Don't worry. I looked at almost _every_ missing girl. None of them are her."

The two girls walked over to the door. Aelita pulled it open, and Odd, who had been leaning against it, fell into the room.

…

The Maplewood Haunted Hayrides were very popular. Every year, almost all the kids at Kadic would take buses out to Maplewood so they could go on the hayrides. This included the Lyoko gang.

"Odd, this pumpkin looks like your head!" Ulrich pointed at one of the thousands of pumpkins dotting the pumpkin patch.

Odd climbed down from the giant mountain of hay bales and ran to Ulrich's side. He found the pumpkin Ulrich was pointing to. It was an oddly shaped pumpkin, the base round but the top coming up in a tall point, much like Odd's hair.

"And that one looks like your brain." Odd said pointing at a puny pumpkin near their feet.

Ulrich rolled his eyes and the two boys returned to the mountain of hay. They climbed to the top where Yumi, Jeremie, Aelita, Candy, Vanessa, Colin, and some other kids from Ulrich's soccer team and the cheer team were engaging in a hay fight. It was like a war zone. Hay was being thrown from all different directions. Every few seconds one of the kids would dive under the hay, before emerging near another kid, throwing hay at them in a surprise attack.

Odd dove under the hay, going towards Jeremie.

Ulrich watched the scene before him, and smiled. He couldn't believe that his Lyoko friends were intermixing like this with his friends from soccer.

He felt a tug on his arm, and he was yanked down behind a bale of hay.

"Ulrich get down!" Yumi laughed as she pulled him lower. "They're going to hit you!"

Ulrich smiled at Yumi. Candy, Yumi, Alyssa (One of the nicer girls from cheerleading) and apparently Ulrich had formed a team. Candy was peering over the top of the hay bale, throwing hay at the other kids. Alyssa was sitting with her back to the bale of hay like Yumi, the two girls giggling and occasionally jumping up to throw hay.

Ulrich got up on his knees and carefully peered over the top of the hay bale.

Jeremie, Odd, Aelita, and a bunch of other kids were running around in the hay, chucking it at each other. It looked like their main opponent was the team hiding behind the hay bale across from them. That team consisted of Vanessa, Colin, Conner, and Kylie.

"Whoa." Alyssa breathed. She had popped up beside Ulrich.

"What?" Ulrich asked.

Alyssa bit her lip. "Vanessa's walking on thin ice."

Ulrich stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Alyssa looked over at him. "She and Conner are flirting."

Ulrich's eye brows shot up. "You mean Colin."

Alyssa shook her head. "No, Conner. I know what I said."

Ulrich looked over at Conner and Vanessa. Indeed they were flirting. Colin looked a little upset by it, but he didn't make a big display of it.

"But, Vanessa likes Colin."

Alyssa shrugged. "Conner's hot, and a player. It's hard to resist when he flirts with you. What's worrying me is that Kylie's right there."

Ulrich looked over at them again. Kylie was watching Conner and Vanessa, and looked completely pissed.

"But, Kylie and Conner broke up. Kylie dumped Conner."

Alyssa took a piece of hay between her fingers, playing with it. "Well, it's like this. When Kylie dumps a boy, it's like, that boy is still her property. So, any girl that flirts with her property is going to be in a lot of trouble with Kylie. Actually, any girl that flirts with any boy that Kylie's interested in is going to be in trouble with Kylie."

Ulrich blinked. "Whoa."

Alyssa nodded. "Yeah. Like, remember how at cheerleading tryouts, Yumi fell out of her stunt and hit the ground?"

Ulrich nodded. How could he forget? He had been watching and almost fainted when he saw Yumi fall from a full lib and hit the ground.

Alyssa glanced over at Kylie, as if she was afraid that Kylie would hear the next part. "It wasn't an accident. Kylie loosened her grip on Shawna and Maddy's wrists without telling them, and so their wrists unlocked and Yumi fell since there was no support. Kylie did it because she liked you a little bit at the time, and she was pissed at Yumi since you liked her more."

Ulrich starred at her. "And she's not in trouble because…"

"…everyone's too scared to tell coach. Kylie would kill the snitch. So, everyone just stays out of her way. That's just how it goes."

Ulrich blinked. "Girls are so confusing."

Alyssa shrugged and returned her gaze to Vanessa and Conner. "I'm just saying, Vanessa's going to be in a lot of trouble with Kylie."

Ulrich turned back to the hay battle and yelped in surprise. All the boys were staring at him.

Finally, Adam popped up from the hay and shouted "Get Ulrich!"

Candy, Yumi and Alyssa ran away from Ulrich, the target of eleven boys. Ulrich was tackled into the hay in a wave of laughter and, well, _hay._

Ulrich shouted and struggled, and finally found Colin's face. He smiled at him. "Déjà vu."

Colin laughed remembering the time he had gotten the soccer team to tackle Ulrich on the bleachers last Summer. His smiled grew when Vanessa jumped on top of him, giggling, joining the dog pile on Ulrich.

"Wagon number eighteen has arrived. Passengers of wagon number eighteen please report to line A immediately."

Odd pulled out his ticket and looked at it. "Hey guys!" He shouted. "That's are number! Get off Ulrich and let's get on that wagon!"

…

"Do not get off the wagon until it has come to a complete stop. We know that you're probably eager to get of this hell wagon, but please restrain yourself from jumping off the wagon. Thank you for choosing Maplewood Haunted hayrides! We hope to see you next year!"

Most of the boys from Ulrich's soccer team slid off the wagon with ease, talking about how fun and scary the hay ride was. The Lyoko gang slid down from the wagon, and started to walk towards the buses.

"How, the _hell_ did Aelita fall asleep?" Vanessa almost yelled. She was still shaking from when the wagon went through a haunted circus tent. Yeah. Clowns. The girl that went up against a crazed William with a knife was afraid of _clowns._

Odd shrugged. He and Ulrich were carrying Aelita. Normally, he would just carry her himself but he was still a bit shaky from the hay ride.

Yumi brushed the hay from her pants. "It's probably better this way. I honestly think the ride would have been too much for Aelita."

"Still, I don't see how she could have slept through it. People were screaming like crazy. My ears are still ringing from when JEREMIE SHRIEKED IN MY EAR!" Candy yelled and put her hands on her hips.

Jeremie crossed his arms. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

Conner smirked. "Why did you scream again? Oh yeah, cause we went by some spiders!" He started laughing and Jeremie glared.

Colin frowned at the boy. He had kept his emotions under control for the whole time Conner had been flirting with Vanessa. "You're one to talk. I seem to remember you jumping into Vanessa's arms when the zombies came out of the lake."

Everyone broke into fits of laughter at the memory. Conner and Colin however, remained silent.

"I wasn't scared. I was just protecting Vanessa."Conner said.

Colin ground his teeth together. "Vanessa doesn't need protecting. She can take care of herself."

An uneasy silence fell upon the group. Glances moved from Colin, to Conner, to Vanessa.

"Well, we better get on the bus before it leaves." Yumi said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Ulrich said. "We don't want another fight."

Yumi smacked his arm and Ulrich almost dropped Aelita.

"erm, fright." Ulrich corrected himself before laughing sheepishly.

Slowly and awkwardly they walked to the parking lot and loaded the bus.


	47. Chapter 47: Halloween Part 3

**Hey guys! I am really sorry about the long wait. A tragedy hit my family around Halloween and I've kind of been a mess. But I'm back and ready to write! So… I guess Halloween has been extended. Lol.**

**I do not own the song Before he cheats by Carrie Underwood, or Man I feel like a woman my Shania Twain. **

**The karaoke in this song is a little shout out to f3296 and her fanfic. She included these two songs in one of her karaoke chapters, and I was inspired by it. :)**

**Also, I don't own Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake.**

"This, is so cool."

Every year, Conner's dad threw a Halloween party in one of his clubs for the kids at Kadic. The club was decked out in black and orange streamers, balloons, and Halloween décor. A stage was set up so kids could sing karaoke, and the bar served soda.

The club was echoing with a loud beat as the music blared from the speakers. The Lyoko warriors made their way through the crowd of their classmates dressed in costumes and dancing on the dance floor. The gang found an empty table and sat down.

"This is so cool!" Vanessa repeated a little louder so she would be heard over the music. She adjusted her cowgirl hat.

Odd nodded. He had dressed up similar to his Lyoko clothes. He had on purple cat ears and purple mittens. "Yeah! Conner's dad really went all out this year!"

Colin frowned a bit at the mention of Conner. Ulrich caught it. He could tell that Colin was a little upset over the Vanessa and Conner thing. The two boys were wearing orange shirts that said 'costume' on the front.

"Speaking of Conner…" Yumi leaned over so only the girls would hear. The bells on her gypsy costume lightly rang. "What's up with you two?"

Vanessa smiled. "He's kissed me on the cheek."

Aelita arched her eyebrows. She was dressed as a winter princess. "That was fast."

Vanessa nodded and her smile grew. "He's really cool."

Candy had her arms crossed and a bit of a frown on her face. Even with her American tourist costume she could look serious and intimidating. "I don't like that boy."

Vanessa's head jerked towards the Hispanic girl. "What?" She rose her voice, and the boy's attention drew to their conversation.

Candy shrugged. "He seems like a player."

Vanessa crossed her arms in defense, feeling the need to defend Conner. "You don't know him. You've only been at this school for a few months."

There was a brief silence before Odd spoke up. "Umm, V? You've only been here as long as Candy has."

Vanessa snapped her head towards Odd. "Shut up."

Odd held his hands up in defense. "I'm just saying. Candy knows Conner just as well as you do."

Vanessa glared at him. "Well Candy isn't in a relationship with Conner now is she?"

Colin's dark blue eyes flashed up. That was the last straw. "For Christ's sake Vanessa! You're not in a relationship with Conner. He's messing with your head! And the moment he gets bored he'll drop you!"

Vanessa glared across the table at him, her mouth slightly open. Colin returned her glare, his face in a scowl. Vanessa's emotions flared, and she wasn't sure if what she felt was love or hate.

"Shut up! I hate you!" She wanted to say 'I love you' but her anger almost always won these battles.

Colin clenched his fists. "Why do you like him? You would never let a player wrap you around his finger like this! You aren't being you!"

Vanessa felt her emotions rage again. "Shut up Colin! You don't know me at all!"

"I know you a lot! I care about you so much and you're freaking ruining yourself!"

"Fuck off! I know what I'm doing!"

Colin dug his nails into his palms. What he was about to say was something he had _never_ wanted to say to her, because it would hurt her so much.

"Vanessa! Are you blind? This is the same thing that gave you that scar on your forehead! You're being drawn to an aggressive guy again! Conner is just like Steven!"

He saw her crumble. Not physically, but mentally. He had hit her right where it hurt. Right where all her pain and emotions were centered. And when the blow hit her wall of emotions, secrets, depression and common since, it shattered like glass. He hated that he was the one that had to tell her it, but he was the only one who could. He had to prevent her from doing it again, and in the process he had hurt her.

Right now, right at this moment, Vanessa was nothing but rage.

"Ok!" Ulrich said standing up to create some sort of barrier between Colin and Vanessa. "Look Vanessa, we just don't agree with your… actions towards a relationship."

Vanessa also stood up. "Shut the fuck up Ulrich! At least it doesn't take a crazy psycho stabbing and almost killing someone to make me admit my feelings!" She held no regrets. She was too consumed with rage to hold any common sense.

Yumi shot up off her stool, knocking it over along with Aelita's stool with her on it. Odd rushed around the table to help her, yelling at Yumi and screaming at Vanessa to calm down.

"Take it back!" Yumi yelled. The music was so loud that no one else in the club noticed the brawl.

Vanessa clenched her fists but said nothing.

Yumi grabbed Vanessa's shirt collar with one fist. "Take it back!" She screamed.

Vanessa's eyes filled with so much hate. "No!"

Colin, Ulrich, Jeremie and Candy stood, about to run around the table to stop what was about to happen. But they couldn't have stopped it even if they knew it was coming.

Yumi's arms came back and then thrust foreword, her hands jamming into Vanessa's shoulders and sending her flailing back.

The world moved in slow motion.

Vanessa falling back, eyes wide with shock that Yumi actually hit her. Ulrich and Jeremie starring at her in shock. Odd rising from the ground and lunging for his sister, a petrified look in his eyes, and Aelita bringing her hand to her mouth. Yumi's eyes flashing from anger to shock at what she had done, and reaching foreword to try and grab Vanessa before she hit the ground. Candy jumping from her chair as her eyes widened with shock. And Colin. Diving for her. The sharp pain in her back as she fell onto the tipped over chair, flipping backwards and finally coming to a rest. The world going blurry. Yumi's voice shrieking and crying apologies. Vanessa's eyes moving up to find Yumi's face and forgive her. Vanessa's vision clearing up. Her eyes landing not on Yumi, but a couple on the other side of the club in the middle of a lip lock.

Kylie and Conner.

The world finally caught up to her.

Vanessa whimpered and sat up, paying no attention to the pain in her back. She kept her eyes on the couple.

"V." Colin dropped to one knee; hand on her back to help support her. When Vanessa's eyes didn't move to meet his, he looked in the direction that she was looking in and scowled.

"That bastard."

Yumi had dropped to her knee's in front of Vanessa, tears swelling in her eyes. "Vanessa, I don't know why I… I didn't mean to… I just… I couldn't…" Vanessa's eyes finally flashed back to Yumi's, and Yumi realized that Vanessa didn't care that she had pushed her, didn't give a damn. She had seen something else. Yumi looked over her shoulder, instantly spotting it.

By now, the others had gathered around Vanessa. And when Colin pointed out the cause of her tears, the others didn't know what to say. 'I told you so' wouldn't really go over so well.

"Vanessa…" Odd began. But Vanessa had already stood and was walking out of the club.

…

The gang found her sitting alone on the bench out front. They gathered around her. Yumi and Ulrich on either sides of her, Odd and Aelita on the ground near her feet, and Jeremie and Candy standing behind the bench, leaning on the wood. It was just like they did at school.

"Where's Colin?" Vanessa asked.

"He left to take a walk. You must have missed him." Odd said.

Vanessa took a breath. "Let me just say, that I'm sorry for flipping out on you guys. Yumi, Ulrich, I'm sorry for saying what I said about your relationship. I totally deserved what you did to me Yumi."

Yumi shook her head. "No you don't. And I'm sorry. I kind of lost it."

Vanessa shrugged.

Jeremie nervously picked a thread on his shirt. He hadn't really been involved in the night's affairs but he still felt the need to ask. "And, what about Conner and Kylie?"

Vanessa smiled. "Conner's a bastard and Kylie's a bitch. They're perfect for each other."

The gang laughed and the mood began to lighten.

Odd stood up and stretched. "So, what do you say we go back in? They just started doing karaoke."

Vanessa smiled. "Sounds fun."

…

The gang regretted bringing Vanessa back in the moment they opened the doors into the club.

Kylie had taken the stage, and was telling the DJ what song she'd be singing.

She was dressed as a cow girl, just like Vanessa.

The gang worriedly glanced at Odd's sister. She just shrugged and moved towards their table which was dangerously close to the stage.

When they sat down, Kylie noticed them. Her eyes locked with Vanessa's, and she smirked. Kylie looked Vanessa's costume up and down, scowling at their resemblance. Vanessa held her stare.

Finally, Kylie's eyes broke as the music began to fill the room. Her eyes moved up and towards the crowd and a satisfied smile played on her lips.

"_I'm going out tonight, I'm feelin' alright. Gonna let it all hang out."_ Kylie held one arm over her head and bent her knees a bit. She was surprisingly pretty good.

"_Wanna make some noise, really raise my voice. Yeah, I wanna scream and shout."_ Kylie spun around, whipping her hair. She stopped and pointed at the crowd.

_"No inhibitions, make no conditions. Get a little outta line."_

"_I ain't gonna act politically correct. I only wanna have a good time."_ Kylie walked to edge of the stage and leaned over so she was looking at Conner and the boys at his table.

"_The best thing about being a woman, Is the prerogative to have a little fun and..."_

Kylie stood up straight, raising her hands for a cheer which the crowd happily gave.

_"Oh, oh, oh totally crazy!_ _Forget I'm a lady!" _Kylie tipped her cow girl hat.

"_Men's shirt, short skirts! Oh, oh, oh really go wild, yeah! Doin' it in style! Oh, oh, oh get in the action, feel the attraction!"_ Kylie pointed at Conner on attraction, and the boys sitting around Conner let out a bunch of _ooohhs._

"_Color my hair, Do what I dare! Oh, oh, oh I wanna be free yeah, to feel the way I feel…"_ Kylie had made her way across the stage so she was standing in front of Vanessa in an obvious manner. She smirked down at Vanessa.

"_Man! I feel like a woman!"_ Kylie spun around again so she was facing the other side of the stage and began to stride across.

"_The girls need a break. Tonight we're gonna take, the chance to get out on the town! We don't need romance, we only wanna dance. We're gonna let our hair hang down!"_ Kylie flipped her hair foreword and then back up.

_"The best thing about being a woman, Is the prerogative to have a little fun and..."_ Kylie lifted her arm, pointing at the sky.

_"Oh, oh, oh totally crazy!_ _Forget I'm a lady!_ _Men's shirt, short skirts! Oh, oh, oh really go wild, yeah! Doin' it in style! Oh, oh, oh get in the action, feel the attraction!" _Kylie pointed out at some of the kids in the audience.

"_Color my hair, Do what I dare! Oh, oh, oh I wanna be free yeah, to feel the way I feel…"_ Kylie started tapping her boot to the music.

"_Man! I feel like a woman!_" Kylie spun around once again, whipping her hair in a circle.

_"The best thing about being a woman, Is the prerogative to have a little fun and..."_ Kylie smirked out at the audience.

_"Oh, oh, oh totally crazy!_ _Forget I'm a lady!_ _Men's shirt, short skirts! Oh, oh, oh really go wild, yeah! Doin' it in style! Oh, oh, oh get in the action, feel the attraction! Color my hair, Do what I dare! Oh, oh, oh I wanna be free yeah, to feel the way I feel…" _Kylie pointed at the audience.

"_Man! I feel like a woman!" _

"_I get totally crazy!"_

"_Can you feel it?"_

"_Come, come, come on baby."_

"_I feel like a woman."_

An array of cheers blared through the club as Kylie stood satisfied on stage, and she did a curtsey. Kylie glanced at Vanessa, who was glaring at her. Kylie smirked.

"Alright now." The DJ said into his microphone. The club started to settle down. "Who's going to try and top Miss Kylie Spraig?"

The club was silent as everyone looked around, seeing who was brave enough to go against Kylie. Kylie also looked around, smiling with satisfaction.

A few gasps were released when Vanessa stood up.

"I will."

"Alright!" The DJ said. "Vanessa Della Robia is taking the stage!"

A cheer rang through the club as Vanessa stepped up onto the stage so she was beside Kylie.

"Looks like we got a western brawl going on here." The DJ said with a smirk.

Kylie smirked at Vanessa. She didn't even bother to take the microphone from her lips when she spoke, so her words rang through the speakers. "That's how you sing amazing country, Della Robia."

A bunch of ooooh's chorused through the club. Vanessa smirked and snatched the microphone from Kylie.

"Hmm, I don't know Spraig. I'm trying to see from your point of view and all, but I can't stick my head that far up my ass."

The club burst out laughing and started to clap. Kylie scowled and stepped down from the stage and sat next to Conner.

Whistles and catcalls filled the room as Vanessa gazed around the club. As the country beat filled the room, Vanessa smirked and tipped her hat, and the crowd cheered, knowing that the city chick dressed as a cowgirl was going to bash Kylie.

"_Right now, he's probably slow dancing with a bleach blond tramp and she's probably getting frisky."_

All eyes turned to Kylie and Conner. Kylie and Conner both glanced down, signs of regret flashing through their eyes.

"_Right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink cause she can't shoot whisky._"

Muffled laughter rang through the club as Kylie pushed her orange cream soda.

"_Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick showing her how to shoot a combo."_

Conner nervously set down the pool stick he had been clutching from an earlier game of pool.

"_And he don't know…" _Vanessa smirked. She was much better than Kylie and the crowd seemed to agree as they clapped along to the beat.

"_I dug my key into the side, of his pretty little supped up for wheeled drive. Carved my name into his leather seat."_

"_I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights. Slashed a hole in all four tires. Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats."_

Vanessa and Conner locked eyes for a moment, and she scowled at him. Conner nervously looked down.

"_Right now, she's probably up singing some white trash version of Shania karaoke."_

A bunch of "oooh's" rolled through the crowd and Kylie blushed despite herself.

"_Right now, she's probably saying I'm drunk, and he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky."_

The crowd snickered.

"_Right now, he's probably dabbing on three dollars worth of that bathroom holo, and he don't know…"_

Vanessa jumped from the stage onto the silver little table that Kylie and Conner were sitting at, making Conner jump and Kylie shriek in surprise. The jar of salt knocked over, spilling over the table top and covering it in white.

"_That I dug my name into the side,"_

Vanessa knelt down so she was eye level with Conner.

"_Of his pretty little supped up four wheel drive."_

Vanessa stood back up on the table, making a sweeping and curving motion of her toe in the spilled salt.

"_Carved my name into his leather seat…"_

Vanessa leaped back onto the stage, and Conner and Kylie starred at the table in shock. Vanessa had written her name using the tip of her boot in the spilled salt.

"_I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights."_

"_Slashed a hole in all four tires." _Vanessa stomped her foot, making some people jump.

"_Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats." _Vanessa's eyes sparkled as she gazed around the club.

"_I might have saved a little trouble for the next girl."_

Vanessa flicked her foot sending a tiny wave of salt at Kylie and Conner.

"_Cause the next time that he cheats…" _Vanessa's voice got softer, and she glanced down.

"_Oh you know it won't be on me."_

"_No oh… not on me."_

Vanessa's sparkly violet eyes flashed back up at the audience, and when the music started to regain the intensity of before, you could almost feel the wave of power.

"_Cause I dug my name into the side, of his pretty little supped up four wheel drive. Carved my name into his leather seat."_

Vanessa stomped her foot, and the crowd cheered, beginning to sing along.

"_Took a Louisville slugger to both head lights."_

"_Slashed a hole in all four tires."_

"_Maybe next time he'll think… before he cheats…"_

"_Oh… maybe next time he'll think…"_

"…_Before he cheats."_

"_Oh…before he cheats."_

"_Oh…oh."_

The club broke into cheers and applause. Vanessa stepped down from the stage, smirking at Kylie and Conner. She walked towards her friends, who were cheering and clapping. She smiled. Colin was sitting with them.

…

Kylie and Conner had disappeared out of the club and into the lobby. The guys at his table said Conner had gone to check on his car.

It was getting hot in the club, and Vanessa had walked out into the lobby to cool off. She spotted Kylie, arms crossed and sitting on the edge of the fountain. She was scowling at something through the glass front doors that led to the parking lot, and when Vanessa got closer she realized that Conner was out there, flirting with two girls that didn't go to their school.

Vanessa approached Kylie, and leaned against the edge of the fountain like her.

"He never learns." Vanessa mumbled.

Kylie jumped, having been completely unaware of her presence. Kylie narrowed her eyes at Vanessa.

"What are _you _doing here?"

Vanessa scowled at her. "Sorry. I didn't realize you owned the lobby."

Kylie rolled her icy blue eyes. "Whatever. Haven't you annoyed everyone enough? Or are you here to call me out again?"

Vanessa shook her head in disappointment. "Kylie, I'm not the one that called you out. You called _me_ out."

Kylie glared at her, and then smirked. "You're right. I did call you out. And it was a total waste of breath because you are so low, you aren't even worth it."

Vanessa clenched her fists. "What is wrong with you? You have to be a jerk to everyone to make yourself feel superior. You _could_ try being nice. People tend to like a nice girl more than a bitch."

Kylie pushed off the fountain so she was facing Vanessa dead on. "I'm the bitch? You're the one that completely bashed me in that little song of yours!"

Vanessa scowled at Kylie, their eyes perfectly level. Vanessa was shorter than Kylie, but the cow girl boots gave her a few inches so she matched Kylies height. "You need someone to call you out Kylie. You are always bringing people down. You've freak'n tried to physically hurt people because you don't like them!"

Kylie's eyes grew wide.

Vanessa scowled at her. "Yeah. I know all about the Yumi thing. Do you know how scummy that is? And now you steal my potential boyfriend? Come on!"

Kylie clenched her fists. "You know what? I'm glad I stole Conner back! Because you are such a loser that you shouldn't have him!"

Vanessa stared at her in amusement. The girl sounded like a five year old. "You know what Kylie? I'm glad you stole Conner. He's a player, jerk, and a bastard. You can keep him."

Vanessa spun on her heel and was about to walk away when Kylie began to shout. "While you're in there, tell Colin to come out! I have something for him."

Vanessa froze and slowly turned around. The look on Kylie's face made Vanessa want to punch her. Vanessa scowled at Kylie. She was really getting sick of her. "You're such a slut! I can't believe you'd go after Conner!"

Kylie smiled wickedly. "How do you know I haven't already? You've only been here a few months. Think of all the nights that have passed before you got here. Think of all the things I could have done with a boy like Colin."

Vanessa eyes lit with flames and she moved so she was inches in front of Kylie's face. "You fucking bitch! You are the biggest whore I have ever met! And I live in California! Colin would never go for a girl like you! The only reason guys date you is because you have a big 'enter' sign between your legs! You're nothing but scum! A scummy slut! The other cheerleaders hate you! Everyone hates you! So stop acting like you're the most important thing in the world, because YOU, FUCKING, AREN'T!"

Vanessa starred at Kylie who was staring back at her in shock. Vanessa was about to leave, when something in Kylie's eyes snapped. Vanessa wasn't sure what happened because it happened so quickly, but Kylie had tackled her and they had somehow ended up in fountain, Kylie tearing her skin with her nails and pulling her hair and screaming. Kylie grabbed Vanessa's scalp and pushed her head under water, trying to drown her.

Just as Vanessa was starting to black out, Kylie was yanked off of her and someone pulled Vanessa up.

Vanessa sputtered as she caught her breath, and then spotted Kylie out of the fountain being restrained by Conner. Vanessa lunged foreword, ready to kill the girl, but a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, keeping her in place. They pulled her backwards, pulling Vanessa out of the fountain on the opposite side. Vanessa looked over her shoulder to see who it was, and took a sharp intake of breath when she realized it was Colin.

Kylie struggled against Conner, ready to attack again. "I'll kill you!" She screamed.

Vanessa was already being dragged out the front doors.

"I'll kill you!" Kylie screamed again. But Vanessa had already been pulled out the front doors. Colin was now dragging/half carrying her to a house nearby. Vanessa shivered as the fall wind hit her skin. She was soaked from the fountain and was freezing.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." Colin whispered to her. Vanessa nodded and eased herself down to the ground so Colin didn't have to carry her. He led her to the house, walking up the steps and onto the friendly, lit porch. He rang the door bell.

"Who's house is this?" Vanessa asked.

"My god father's daughter's house. Sarah. She keeps an eye on me since my parents can't back in NYC."

Vanessa nodded.

A moment later, the door opened. An African American woman stood there smiling. She had on a light blue dress and white apron. Her black hair was short and framed her round face. She was a large woman, probably six foot, but she looked like the sweetest thing in the world.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't Colin Paisley! How you doing baby?" The woman said stepping onto the porch and giving Colin a bear hug.

Colin smiled. "I'm fine Rose." Colin turned to Vanessa. "Rose, this is my friend Vanessa. Vanessa, this is Rose, Sarah's house keeper."

Vanessa nodded her hello.

Rose finally noticed Vanessa's situation. "Child! You're soaked! You must be freezing! It's forty degrees out there! Come in! Come in!" Rose herded the teens into the house.

"Child, what did you do to that poor girl?" Rose had grabbed a towel from a basket of clean laundry near the door and had wrapped it around Vanessa.

Colin smiled. "I didn't do anything this time. Vanessa's the one that jumped into the fountain."

Vanessa looked at him. "Kylie tackled me into it! She tried to _drown_ me!"

Rose gasped. "Goodness! You poor child!" Rose pulled a pair of pale blue pajama's and a purple robe from the laundry basket. She looked Vanessa up and down. "These are Sarah's. They might be a little big, but they'll do. Go change in the bathroom over there and bring me your wet clothes. I'll toss them in the dryer."

Vanessa nodded. "Thank you so much Rose."

Rose brushed it off and handed her the clothes. "No problem."

Colin smiled at her. "And sorry for barging in at eleven o'clock."

Rose smiled. "Any time baby. You're always welcome in this house hold. Besides, I love when you visit."

…

Vanessa stepped out of the bathroom, carefully holding her wad of wet clothes to prevent them from dripping on the floors. She walked down the hallway and into the living room. The living room was open to the kitchen, and she could see Rose busy with making them hot chocolate. In the living room, Colin was laying down on a fuzzy rug in front of a fire place, which was lit with warm flames.

Vanessa crossed the living room to the kitchen. Rose looked up and smiled. "I'll take those."

She took the pile of wet clothes and disappeared through a door near the closet. Vanessa assumed it was the laundry room. A barely audible rumbling began. Rose reappeared and continued making the hot chocolate. "Your clothes should be dry in forty five minutes or so, honey. Until then, go warm up by the fire while I make you kids hot chocolate."

Vanessa smiled. "Thank you so much."

Rose smiled but didn't look up from her work. Vanessa walked back over to the living room and stretched out on the fluffy rug next to Colin.

Colin lazily opened his eyes. "Feel any warmer?"

Vanessa nodded. Colin closed his eyes again. "Good."

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while before Colin spoke again. "Rose, where is Sarah?"

"She's out with your god parents. They'll probably get back before you kids leave."

Vanessa's eyes snapped open. "Your god sister, Sarah, she won't be mad that we're here, right?"

Colin laughed. "Vanessa, she wouldn't be mad if I brought _twenty_ kids over. See, when we were little Sarah's sister died. So I was the only sibling she had. We're really close." Colin let his head relax back into the rug. "You'll like her."

Rose walked across the living room with their hot chocolate. She placed the mugs down in front of them and then took a seat in a rocking chair. Colin and Vanessa sat up with their hot chocolate and turned to Rose; their back's to the fire.

"You seem like a fine girl Vanessa. But back in my town, we'd just beat each other up in the parking lot, not a fountain."

Vanessa blushed at laughed a bit. Colin snickered. "She's from California, Rose."

Rose smiled. "She's an American to? You don't get many of them here in France."

"I go to the same boarding school as Colin. So does my brother Odd…" Vanessa gasped. "Odd! Colin, we left them at the club without telling them where we are!"

Colin smiled and held up his phone. "No worries. I gave them the address while you were changing. They should be here any minute."

The door bell rang. Rose lifted herself out of the rocking chair and moved over to the front door.

A moment later, Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, Candy, Yumi, and Ulrich came into the living room.

Rose smiled at the teens. "I'll go make more hot chocolate."

…

Rose told them that she'd drive them back to Kadic in a little bit. The gang was a little worried that they were overstaying their welcome, but Rose said that she didn't mind at all. The house was usually really quiet and it was nice when company came over.

"You guys missed the best part!" Yumi cried.

Ulrich smiled. "Yeah. Odd went up and sang Sexy Back."

Odd crossed his arms. "I was half way through the song when they told me you had gotten in a fight. I didn't get to finish my song! And I was so good! The audience was clapping like crazy."

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "Odd, they were clapping because the banshee call you call singing was over."

Everyone broke into fits of laughter.

Odd looked a little upset, but Aelita leaned over and whispered something to him. Odd smiled and grasped her hand in his.

Aelita looked around the house. "So, whose house is this exactly?"

Colin smiled at her. "My god father's daughter's. Sarah. She doesn't mind us being here. We're really close. When we were little, her sister died so I was her only sibling."

Aelita nodded. "Her home is really pretty."

They heard the front door open from down the hall. Voices echoed into the living room. Rose stood up from her rocking chair. "There's Sarah and your god parents." Rose and Colin stood up and left the living room to greet them.

Something flashed from outside. Odd glanced over to the glass doors leading to the balcony and gasped. "What the hell?"

The others turned to look and gasped. Aelita had to stop herself from screaming. "That's the girl I saw! That's Ally!"

Aelita stood from the rug and ran to the glass doors, carefully opening them and slipping outside. The others followed her.

"Ally!" Aelita said.

Ally was standing on the balcony railing with her back to them. She glanced over her shoulder. "Hi Aelita."

Ally spotted Yumi and her eyes grew wide. She turned completely around to face them and starred at Yumi.

"Finally! You're Yumi Ishiyama."

Yumi returned the girls stare, a bit of shock in her eyes. "How do you know who I am?"

The girl smiled. "All the in-between's know who you are. You are one of the most famous links of all time!"

The gang stared at her in confusion as she continued to babble. "You are like the only soul to ever go through the station and choose the light, actually get half way through, and then turn around and choose life! It's the most outstanding case of a link ever. I could have been a link, but I was supposed to die. But you know, cause I didn't finish my business on earth and what not I got stuck in the middle. Gosh, I've been waiting so long for you! Now I can finally finish and move on! I can't believe this! Yumi Ishiyama is going to set me free! _The_ Yumi Ishiyama! You altered _fate._ No link has ever gotten as far as you. I'm so lucky that you're _my _link."

The gang stared at Ally in confusion. Yumi was quivering with shock. She could somehow understand what the girl was talking about. Like it was something from a distant memory.

Ulrich finally stopped the girl. "This is crazy! Quit the fairy tale crap! And get down from there! If you fall you'll get hurt!"

The girl laughed. "I can't get hurt anymore." Ally glanced up at the glass door. She spotted something and smiled. The gang watched in horror as she leaned back, falling backwards.

"No!" Aelita screamed and lunged foreword. Her hand shot out to grab Ally's wrist, but it passed right through as if Ally was nothing but air.

Aelita and the others crowded the balcony edge in terror, looking over the side. Ally was falling down, towards the garden below, but before she hit, she vanished into the air with a flash of light.

They stared in shock at the ground below. A shout brought their attention back to the living room.

Colin and Rose had returned. They were with three people. A younger woman, an older woman, and Tim Crosby.

Aelita's eyes flashed from the younger woman, Colin's god sister, Sarah, to a family picture on the wall. It was a picture of the family. A younger version of Tim Crosby and his wife smiled back. In front of them, a young version of Sarah smiled with her arm looped around another, younger girls shoulder.

The girl was Ally.

Tim Crosby's dead daughter was Ally.

Ally was a ghost.

Aelita swayed back and forth and went unconscious, and Odd caught her just before she hit the ground.

…

Rose had driven them back to Kadic. Unfortunately, they had run into Jim. Rose explained the situation to him, and Jim let them go with a warning. Yumi was still with them when they waved good bye to Rose and entered the dorm building; her parents were out of town and so she was going to spend the night with Aelita.

Colin had felt the tension all the way home. Something had happened when he and Rose had left the room. He separated himself from the group, and nodded his good night, before walking up the stairs to the boy's dorm wing.

The group looked at each other, and coming to a silent agreement, they all walked down the hall into Aelita's room.

They weren't surprised when they saw Ally sitting in the windowsill.

Carefully, they all sat down. Aelita, Vanessa, and Odd on the bed, Candy and Yumi on the couch, Jeremie on the floor and Ulrich leaned against the door, shutting it.

Finally Vanessa spoke up. "You're, like, a ghost."

Ally shrugged. "We prefer the term, super natural beings. But yeah, I'm a ghost."

Odd, who was the closest to Ally, slowly reached out his hand to Ally's crossed arms. His eyes grew wide when his hand passed right through her arm.

Ally yanked her arm away. "Please stop."

Odd pulled his hand away sheepishly. "Sorry, I've never really encountered a dead person before."

"Besides zombies." Ulrich muttered as he recalled one of Xana's attacks. Yumi kicked him and gestured to Candy. Yumi looked back at Ally.

"When we were back on the balcony, you were talking about the light, and a station, and in-betweens. You called me a link. _Your _link. What did you mean?"

Ally fiddled with her necklace and sighed. "He said you might not understand. I'll just have to start from the beginning."

"When someone dies, they come to the station. It's basically a train station that leads from earth to…"

Ally stopped. "Sorry. I'm not allowed to talk about where the station leads to."

Aelita's eye brows knit together. "Why not?"

Ally smiled. "Because you're supposed to find out when it's your time. But anyways, when a person dies and comes to the station, they usually will go through the light, the gates to the beyond. And they usually go without any self conflict. They go without conflict because their work on earth is done. They have finished what they were born to do. But some people don't finish. They want to stay, but they need to die. So they end up staying in the station too long, and they get stuck. They can't move on, but they can't live on earth. These kinds of spirits are called in-betweens. I am an in-between. "

"Then there are links. Links are people that went to the station, but successfully returned to earth. Doctor's call it a near death experience, but that's not right. When someone comes to the station, their soul has been disconnected from their body. They _are _dead. But some souls are able to return to their bodies, and continue living on earth. These are called links. Yumi is a link."

Yumi's eyes were shimmering, on the verge of tears. Ulrich held her hand. "So, Yumi was actually _dead?_"

Ally nodded. "And it's odd that she isn't permanently dead. She got half way through the light, the gates, but she still somehow managed to turn around and return to earth. She actually set a record because she got that close. No link has ever gotten as close as Yumi. So it's an honor that she's my link."

"_Your _link?" Candy asked.

Ally glanced at Candy and her eyes widened. She stared at her for a moment before nodding her head. "The only way for an in-between to move on is for their business on earth to be finished. But, in-betweens can't do it because we are forbidden to interfere with the lives of regular people. Links have to pay a sort of _fee_ since they were given life, so they are sort of bonded with an in-between. It is the links job to finish the in-between's business so that they can move on."

The teens sat in silence, taking it all in.

Aelita recovered first. "Ally, if Yumi is your link, why did you talk to me in the alley? Why are you talking to all of us? I thought it was forbidden for you to communicate with normal people."

Ally smiled. "You guys aren't exactly normal."

Odd crossed his arms. "Gee, thanks."

Ally looked around the room. "Yumi may be my link, but I'm going to need all your help if I'm going to move on, and you're going to need my help if you want to live through Xana's attack tomorrow night."

"What?" The teens yelled simultaneously.

Ally giggled. "Oops. I've said too much. Bye." Ally waved and before anyone could say anything else, she disappeared with a flash of light.


	48. Chapter 48: Halloween Part 4

**Oh yeah! The long awaited Boo-Bash is here!**

**I don't own Code Lyoko, Aladdin, The Luxe, Phantom of the Opera, The Immortals.**

The wind whipped against the teen's face. She sighed as the last of the fall breezes kissed her skin and flowed through her rosy hair. She leaned against the balcony railing, looking out at the rolling hills of the Anderson's property. The sky twinkled with the night stars, like a billion diamonds scattered over a sheet of black silk.

A pair of arms slipped around her waist from behind her and she smiled. Aelita leaned back against Odd's body, his warmth radiating through her own.

"What are you doing out here?" He whispered, his hot breath spilling over her ear and neck.

Aelita sighed. "Just thinking."

Odd gently began to sway them side to side, moving to the soft music flowing through the doors leading back into the dance hall. "About?"

Aelita smiled again. "Nothing… and everything."

She slowly turned around to face him. She adored their Halloween costumes. It was only natural that they had dressed up as a couple, an extravagant one at that, and they had received many looks of awe over the course of the night. Odd was dressed in a white, silk dress shirt, tie and black pants, his hair dyed black and down for a change. She was wearing a custard light pink and green gown, her hair dyed dirty blonde, curled, and up in a bun. An old fashion light pink masquerade mask was held in her hand, accenting the light pink details on the gown.

No one could guess who they were.

And they didn't plan on telling anyone.

**(A/N: You will NEVER guess who they are. NEVER. If you do, I will be seriously impressed.) **

Still, people would come up to them and guess. People were even making bets with each other on who they were.

Odd wrapped his arms around her, and she placed her hands on his shoulders, her head resting on his chest, right below his chin. They gently swayed to the music.

"Everything and nothing huh? Sound's complicated." Odd could feel her smile into his chest.

"Are people still guessing who we are?"Aelita asked, stifling a giggle.

Odd thought about the guesses he had received, counting them on his fingers. "Aladdin and Jasmine, Elizabeth and Will from the Luxe, Christine and the Phantom from Phantom of the Opera, Ever and Damen from The Immortals, and Queen Elizabeth having a love affair with one of her servants." Odd smiled. "Oh, and Candy guessed that we were representing Ulrich and Yumi's relationship, you representing Ulrich's femininity and I Yumi's masculinity."

Aelita laughed, but she quickly stopped. Odd drew their dancing to a halt. "Something wrong princess?"

"I'm worried about Yumi." Aelita said softly. Odd slowly nodded his head in agreement.

"She seems… lost." Aelita mumbled.

"Yumi is a very stubborn person. It's probably hard for her to accept that she was actually dead, and that she's a link between the earth and Ally."

Aelita nodded. "Any sign of Xana yet?"

Odd shook his head. "Jeremie's been checking his phone every five minutes. I'm telling you though, I really don't think Xana's going to attack. Ally could have been wrong."

Aelita sighed. "Maybe."

…

"_Oops. I've said too much. Bye!"_

Yumi scowled at the memory. Said too much? Too little was more like it! She hated this. She hated that she wasn't allowed to move on from William's attack. She hated that Ally couldn't tell her what she was talking about. She hated everything.

A shadow passed in front of her chair. She looked up and smiled at Ulrich. He could really pull off the Johnny Depp look.

"Miss Katy Perry, would you dance with me?" Ulrich said while reaching out his hand.

Yumi rolled her hand but took his hand, allowing him to pull her up. The central area of the Andersons estate was a large, circular room. Above that was another circular room with a hole in the center, and above that was another donut like room. From the bottom, you could look up all the way to the people looking over the third floor railing. They were currently on the third floor.

"Hey, where's everyone else?" Yumi asked as the two of them danced to the classical music.

"Well, I think Odd and Aelita are out on the balcony, Vanessa and Jeremie went to the movie theatre down that hallway to see what horror movie is playing, and I think Candy is on the floor below us." Suddenly Ulrich's eyes lit up. "Did you see her boyfriend?"

Yumi stopped and almost shrieked. "No! Damián is here? He came all the way from Mexico? Oh my god I've got to meet him!"

Ulrich laughed. "We'll go in a minute. Let's wait for the others though."

Yumi nodded. "So, wait. Didn't Candy have a thing going on with that Jason kid?"

Ulrich thought about his soccer team's goalie. "Yeah, and I think they still do. But Yumes, you should see these two together."

Yumi frowned slightly. She thought Jason and Candy were cute together, but decided not to bring it up. She could remember how loyal Candy was to her long distance boyfriend when boys were asking her to the beginning of school year dance.

Ulrich leaned down so his mouth was close to her ear. "Has Ally talked to you yet?"

Yumi stiffened. "No. And it's pissing me off. The kid says she needs my help, and then she won't even tell me what to do."

Ulrich lightly grabbed her chin, making her look at him. "Yumi, _the kid_ is a ghost. I think she has the right to call the shots. There's probably some ghost code she has to follow."

Yumi's lips twitched up into a small smile. They continued to dance.

"You know what's weird?" Yumi said.

"What?"

"I find it kind of funny that everyone's on board with the whole Ally thing. We all have different religions, but everyone still believes Ally."

Ulrich nodded. "I guess you're right. Everyone in out group believes in different things that happen when you die."

Yumi thought about that. "It's probably because we're all so different. Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Atheism. Look at Candy, she's polytheistic and she is still on board with all this."

Ulrich nodded, but he was distracted by something behind Yumi. Yumi turned, half expecting it to be Ally, and was semi disappointed to see it was only Odd and Aelita coming towards them.

"Katy Perry. Johnny Depp." Odd greeted them.

Ulrich smiled. "Mystery one. Mystery two."

Odd and Aelita smiled proudly.

Vanessa and Jeremie walked up next to them. Jeremie had dressed as a mad scientist and Vanessa an angel.

"Anything good on in the theatre?" Aelita asked.

Vanessa and Jeremie shook their heads 'no.'

"Just an old black and white movie. They're playing all the good movies later tonight." Vanessa said, crossing her arms.

Jeremie smiled excitedly. "Yeah. They're playing Computer's Rebel at ten."

"Speaking of rebelling computers…" Odd muttered. "Anything on Xana?"

Jeremie took out his phone and checked. "No, nothing. I'll try to do a more accurate scan on each sector though." Jeremie walked over to a group of chairs near the circular railing surrounding the enormous gap that looked past the second floor, all the way to the first's large dance floor. The group followed.

Everyone took a seat around Jeremie, except Vanessa and Aelita who were left standing because there weren't enough chairs. Vanessa lifted herself up onto the railing, sitting on the crafted wood and getting a good view of Jeremie's phone.

Odd looked up at his sister. "Careful V. We're three stories up from the main floor. If you fall, you're dead."

Vanessa waved it off. Aelita copied the older girl, sitting on the railing next to her.

Jeremie continued his scan of the Lyoko sectors.

"You find anything yet Jer?" Yumi asked.

Jeremie shook his head. "My phone's really slow compared to my lap top. It can't handle the power that the super computer can."

There was a soft buzzing noise, and Jeremie's phone began to spark.

"What the…" Jeremie began. Yumi quickly grabbed his phone and threw it over the railing edge, and it exploded in mid air.

An almost undetectable shock wave went through the huge room. For some reason, no one but them seemed to notice.

"Jeremie, what's going on?" Vanessa asked, gripping her chair.

Jeremie shook his head, unaware of what to make of what just happened. In the confusion, they didn't take note of the man walking towards them. When he was about to pass them, the eye of Xana flashed in his eyes, going undetected by everyone except Yumi who let out a gasp. The man jerked to the left at the last moment, bumping into Aelita's shoulder and knocking her off balance, sending her backwards over the railing.

Vanessa reached for her, but it happened too quickly. Aelita was plummeting to the floor below. She hadn't even been falling for more than a second or two when a jerking feeling ripped through her body. She let out a gasp of pain and it took her a moment to realize that she had not hit the ground, no. She was suspended in the air. Someone on the second floor beneath the third had reached out and caught her arm, and the impact had almost yanked her arm out of its socket. Aelita looked up at the person who had saved her. A tan boy with messy chocolate hair and warm chocolate eyes. His eyes looked panicked, and a bit surprised. The boy pulled her over the railing and she collapsed onto the floor at his feet.

"Ay Chica! Las barandillas son las barreras para evitar que saltar por encima de la cornisa, no placas de buceo!"

Aelita looked up at the teen, and began to panic. Had the fall screwed up her hearing?

Her vision began to clear and she noticed the red head leaning over her with a confused look. "Aelita? Chica are you all right?"

Aelita nodded at Candy and accepted her out stretched hand.

"What the hell happened?" Candy asked.

Aelita adjusted the collar of her gown. "I'm not sure. I was sitting on the rail and some guy accidentally bumped into me."

"Are you alright?" Candy asked.

Aelita nodded.

Candy still looked a bit skeptical. "Alright…" She noticed Aelita looking at the boy and smiled.

"Aelita, this is Damián."

Aelita smiled at him. "Can he speak English?"

Damián answered it for her. "Yeah, not as good as Caramella though." It took Aelita a moment to register that he was talking about Candy. Her real name was so foreign to her, and it was hardly used except when one of the substitutes was calling attendance. Damián's voice still had the Spanish role to it, much like Candy's.

"I heard you came all the way from Spain." Aelita said, speaking to Damián.

Damián nodded. "My family come too. We are close friends with the Andersons."

Aelita smiled. Damián was dressed as Dracula, and Candy was dressed as… she actually wasn't sure what Candy was dressed as.

"Candy, what are you dressed as?" Aelita asked. Candy smiled, looking down at herself. She was wearing a gorgeous green gown.

"I honestly don't know. I guess I'm just going as myself."

"Aelita!"

Aelita turned to see their friends running towards her. Odd was the first to meet her with a hug.

"Are you ok?"

Aelita nodded. "Damián grabbed me."

Odd looked up at the older teen. He slapped his on the arm in a guyish manner. "Thanks dude. I almost had a heart attack when she fell. You're a life saver."

Damián looked slightly confused. Candy took his hand and spoke to him in Spanish, translating Odd's slang. Damián nodded his head in understanding. "No problem… dude."

Yumi bit her nails, eagerness consuming her being. "Candy, Aelita looks pale. Can you get her some water?"

Candy nodded and she and Damián headed towards the buffet table.

"Yumi I'm fine." Aelita said.

Yumi shook her head. "I know, but Aelita, this is bad. That guy was possessed by Xana!"

Jeremie bit his lip. "My phone exploding, the shock wave, I don't know what Xana's planning, but it can't be good."

Odd gazed at something down one of the halls leading away from the grand room. "And I think we've been paid a little visit by Ally."

They all followed Odd's gaze, eventually spotting Ally standing in the shadows. Yumi ran towards her, the others following.

"Ally." Yumi said when she got to the girl. Ally looked impatient, eager, almost a little nervous.

Ally looked up at Yumi and smiled. "Hi Yumi. How's life?" Ally giggled at her own joke.

Odd smiled. "Oh I get it. Ha. Cause she's dead and doesn't know what life's like…" Odd was cut off my Vanessa smacking him upside the head.

"Ally.." Jeremie said, kneeling down in front of the little girl. "We think Xana might be…"

"… attacking." Ally finished. "Yeah I know. Aelita falling, the phone exploding, the shock wave. Oh, you might want to get down right, about… now."

There was a loud crackle and the group dropped to the floor, covering their heads. Another shock wave coursed through the mansion, and screams accompanied it.

When the air fell still and silent, they slowly opened their eyes. Ally had not hit the deck, and still stood staring down the hallway. The group slowly got up.

Without even looking at them, Ally smiled. "This is going to be interesting."

A chilling chorus of roars and moans, growls and shrieks echoed down the hall. They watched in horror as snarls grew louder, and a shadow rounded the corner.

Vanessa sighed in relief. "Guys, it's only Colin."

She walked towards him, smiling. The rest of the gang stood frozen; Colin's werewolf costume seemed a bit too real.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ally sing songed quietly. Vanessa didn't hear though, and when she was close enough, began to reach up to Colin.

Something flashed within Colin's eyes. He lashed out at Vanessa with a clawed arm and knocked her to the ground. He dove for her, but Ulrich had beat him to her and kicked Colin, knocking him against the wall where he let out a dog like whimper and crumpled to the ground.

The gang rushed to Vanessa, gathering around her. Vanessa sat up, a shocked expression on her face. Three deep red lines ran across her cheek from where Colin had clawed her, and they were bleeding.

"He freak'n clawed me." Vanessa said in disbelief. "He's a freak'n real werewolf!"

"Xana must have made everyone real versions of what their costumes are!" Ulrich yelled.

"We weren't affected because we've been on Lyoko." Jeremie said.

"Yeah, but there's over a thousand people here that haven't been to Lyoko!" Vanessa screamed.

As if on cue, more growls and moans echoed from around the corner, and the gang starred in shock as Zombies, werewolf's, mummies, and vampires rounded the corner, coming towards them.

"Run!" Odd shrieked. They ran back towards Ally, who was motioning them to follow her. She lead them to an emergency exit, but it wouldn't open.

"Xana must have messed with all the locks. They are electrically locked!" Ally said. "Come, on follow me!" They entered back into the grand room, where hundreds of halloweenified people were haunting.

"Split up!" Ally yelled. "Half go around clockwise, half counter clockwise and meet at the other hallway. Go to the second room where there's a coffin set up. Open it and you'll figure it out from there."

Aelita, Yumi, and Vanessa followed Ally around the perimeter of the circular room, and the guys went the other way.

The girls got to the hallway and started running down it. Aelita ran into a possessed red head and screamed.

"What the hell Aelita!" Candy shrieked as she pushed Aelita away. She looked from Yumi, to Vanessa, to Ally. "What's going on? Damián just tried to _bite_ me! Then he turned into a bat and flew away!"

"Candy, you weren't turned into a monster." Vanessa said, unable to believe it.

"Because she went as herself." Aelita said in awe. "Xana just turned her into herself. She didn't change."

"What? Who is Xana?" Candy shrieked.

Shrieks and howls rang through the air as the creatures moved down the hall towards them. Yumi grabbed Candy's hand and pulled her into the room Ally was pointing at, the other two girls following.

Vanessa lifted the Coffin lid and was surprised to see a stair case leading down. The girls got inside, climbing down the stairs and closing the lid just as the door to the room opened.

…

The girls crawled out of the small hole. Ally's secret passage had led them outside into the Anderson's yard. They laid down for a moment, catching their breath.

Scrapping and groaning echoed through the hole.

The girls stood up, ready to fight whatever had followed them through the passage.

A familiar course made them relax.

"Jeremie!" Aelita cried.

Jeremie popped out of the hole and climbed up.

"Where's Ulrich?" Yumi asked.

"And Odd?" Aelita put in.

Jeremie looked up at them. "They got separated from me. I don't know if they made it out."

Within seconds, Aelita was dialing Odd's number. She put it on speaker.

"Odd! Did you get out?"

"No. Me and Ulrich are still in this hell house. Did you guys make it?"

"Yeah. Everyone's here, even Candy."

"Thank god you got out safe. We're trapped in here. Listen, you girls need to go to Lyoko. Stop this madness before we're eaten by those possessed monsters."

Aelita tried to keep from crying. "We will Odd. Vanessa, Yumi and I will go to Lyoko and stop this."

A glowing began to radiate from not only Ally, but Yumi to. Ally's eyes grew wide. "It is time. Yumi cannot go with you now. She needs to fulfill her destiny as a link, now."

Yumi nodded. "I can feel it guys. Something's calling to me. I have to help Ally now."

Ulrich's voice came panicked over the phone. "Yumi, your not going to die or something right?"

Ally shook her head, still hypnotized by the glowing. "Once Yumi finished her destiny as a link, she'll be able to continue her life on earth as a human."

Yumi stood up, as did Ally.

"Alright." Jeremie said. "Yumi goes to find Ally's freedom. Vanessa and Aelita go to Lyoko."

Vanessa looked up. "Jeremie, I've never gone to Lyoko with just Aelita. It's not safe for her to go with just me. I'm not as trained as Ulrich, Odd or Yumi to battle Xana all alone."

Silence fell among them.

"She's right." Odd said over the phone. "We can't risk it. Jeremie, you know what we have to do, and Ulrich and I vote yes to it."

Jeremie, Aelita, Yumi, Ally, and Vanessa all looked at Candy.

Jeremie glanced at the three Lyoko girls, and receiving a nod from each one, he turned to Candy.

"Candy, you're going to Lyoko."


	49. Fall Finale: Halloween Part 5

**This chapter marks the end of the fall chapters. Winter chapters coming soon!**

Their shoes pounded on the pavement as the four teens raced down the street. Vanessa gripped Candy's wrist, tugging the red head along as she asked numerous questions.

They quickly turned a corner, racing down an alley, Candy's voice echoing off the walls.

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "It was much easier the first time Vanessa went to Lyoko."

Aelita glared at him. They turned another corner. "That's because Xana possessed her. She _couldn't_ ask questions."

Candy's eyes widened. "Vanessa was possessed by Xana? V, what's it like?"

The three of them had explained what they could to Candy on their way over. They had reached the bridge and were now sprinting across towards the factory.

"I don't remember." Vanessa said. Coming to the edge of the road where it dropped into the factory, Vanessa let go of Candy's wrist. Aelita and Jeremie jumped, grabbing the ropes and swinging down; Aelita's dress fluttering. She had ditched her high heels after the first mile they had run.

Candy's questions had ceased, and Vanessa looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

Candy gulped. "The last time I was here, you had a knife to William's throat." She shuttered. "And Yumi was dying on the floor."

…

Yumi ran through the street, Ally right behind her. She made a quick turn down an alley, and stopped at the road it opened up to.

"Which way?" Yumi asked.

Ally closed her eyes and started to glow. After a moment, the glowing ceased, and Ally opened her now panicked struck eyes.

"Oh no."

…

Candy gazed around in awe as she slowly walked out of the elevator into the computer room. Jeremie passed her and sat down in the computer chair. Candy stared at the glowing dome in the middle.

"That's Lyoko?" She asked.

Jeremie nodded. Vanessa stepped up behind her. "Once you're in, it's like a big video game. We protect Aelita so she can get to a tower, deactivate it and stop Xana."

Candy starred at the dome. "That's amazing."

Aelita came up to her. "Candy, I know this is a lot to take in, and we will explain it all after this is over, but we have to go in now."

Jeremie nodded. "It's completely your choice. If you don't go in, you will forget all of this when we launch a return to the past. But if you do go in…"

Vanessa gripped her shoulder. "Then you are a Lyoko warrior and you will never forget. You will become one of Xana's targets and the return trips will not affect your memory.

Candy stood still, looking at the floor.

*"It's the whole red pill, blue pill deal, right?"

Jeremie, Vanessa and Aelita nodded.

Candy stood still for a moment, eyes still on the floor.

She slowly looked up, a small grin on her face.

"Give me the red one."

…

"What's wrong?" Yumi asked.

Ally shook her head. "You know how I said in-betweens can only interfere with the living to a certain extent?"

Yumi's mouth dropped open. Ally sighed. "Yumi, I can't interfere anymore. They won't let me. My senses are gone. You're the only one that can find it now."

"But I don't even know what 'it' is!" Yumi shouted.

Ally shook her head again. "I don't know what will set me free. I'm not allowed to. I can't even look for it to a certain extent. That would be interfering. You're the only one that can find it now Yumi.

Yumi sighed.

"Just focus." Ally encouraged. "Imagine our connection. Try to look into my memories, try to find what is holding me here, and what can release me."

Yumi closed her eyes. She imagined Ally. She thought about the night on the balcony when Ally spoke of links and in-betweens. She had somehow understood Ally, like the words Ally spoke had been engraved in the depths of her mind like a dream, like a memory.

She thought about her near death experience. She could remember that when she had been leaving the station to return to earth, she had felt something click within her mind. Like a small child grasping their mother's skirt when the child is scared, she could feel something attach to her. She could feel something seeking her guidance and help. She felt like she had been given something to protect, something she was destined to do. Something she was bonded to do.

Their connection.

Yumi's mind flashed with light. She felt a rush of emotions flood her mind. Longing, pain, envy, helplessness, and love. Everything Ally felt, she could feel. Ally's voice echoed through her mind, and she realized Ally was not saying anything, not even telepathically communicating with her. It was just something Ally knew, something her self conscious knew, and now it was something Yumi knew.

"_You did it. Now try to see my memories. Find something that could be holding me back."_

Yumi focused on Ally's thoughts. She focused on the images floating through Ally and her minds.

A house.

Yumi opened her eyes, returning to her own mind. Ally was clasping her hands together, knowing that Yumi had seen her memories, and hoping that Yumi had found something.

Yumi looked left. She could feel something pulling her in that direction.

"This way."

…

Odd slowly walked through the maze of mirrors. He held his hands out in front of him, trying to find his way out of the maze. He had been separated from Ulrich and chased into the mirror room by one of the monsters. Odd gulped coming around a corner. Hundreds of his face starred back at him, terrified.

_Bump._

Odd froze. He spun, looking at all around, and sighing in relief when he only saw himself.

But then, the room filled with the face of the devil. Odd gasped, rotating around, surrounded by the terrifying face and not knowing which was real.

…

Candy stood in front of the last scanner, Aelita and Vanessa already standing in their own.

"Does it hurt?" Candy said aloud.

"Nope." Aelita said.

Candy stepped inside.

Jeremie's voice came on over the speakers. "Last chance to back out Candy."

Candy smiled. "No way."

Jeremie smiled into the headset. "Well alright."

Candy watched as Vanessa's scanner closed, then Aelita's, and finally her own.

"Scanner Vanessa. Scanner Aelita. Scanner, Caramella."

Candy rolled her eyes at the use of her real name and gasped when she floated off the ground.

"Transfer Vanessa. Transfer Aelita. Transfer Caramella."

Candy began to rotate as a light ring traveled over her body.

"Virtualization."

And in a bright flash of light, she felt her body go numb.

…

Yumi's bare feet skimmed the pavement, for she had abandoned her heels a long time ago. She whizzed past homes lining the streets, Ally right behind her. She had been running for so long and her legs ached, but the pulling feeling kept growing. Her eyes widened and she came to a quick halt. Ally actually passed right through her because she had stopped so suddenly.

Ally stopped and turned to face Yumi.

Yumi could feel something drawing her to the home at her left.

It took her a moment to realize that it was Colin's god sister's house.

…

Ulrich grunted as he crashed into the wall. He slowly got back up and turned to his attacker.

"Come on Colin, you can do better than that!"

The wolfified Colin growled and jumped at him again. Ulrich flipped Colin over his head, using his own strength against him, and Colin crashed into the buffet table.

Ulrich smiled, thinking he had won, and was a little surprised to see Colin get back up.

"You don't go down easy, huh?" Ulrich said, getting in a fighting stance. "Just like in soccer. But whatever. I can take you down."

Ulrich gasped as several other guys from his soccer team came around the buffet table, snarling at him.

They were all wolfified.

…

Candy hit the ground with a slight gasp. She was in a weird forest, and she seemed to be in another dimension.

She looked around, and jumped when she saw Aelita and Vanessa behind her. They looked so different.

She looked down at herself, wondering if she had changed too.

She did.

She was wearing a teal, miny tube top, with green fabric flowing from the middle off to the side. Teal ribbons loosely cris crossed down her arms, ending at her wrists where green ribbons loosely hung. A teal ribbon crossed her bare stomach, connecting to a silver ring at her hip that held a loose green short skirt up. Teal leggings stretched down to her knees, and began to separate into teal ribbons down her shins to her feet. Her red hair was long and wavy, and had streaks of teal and green through it.

Aelita smiled. "Nice outfit."

"Yeah, blue is defiantly your color." Vanessa said.

Jeremeie's voice came on over the speakers. "Girls, you can talk about fashion later. Candy, you need to figure out what your weapon is."

Candy looked around her body. "Jeremie, I don't see anything."

Vanessa and Aelita thought. "Maybe you have powers. Vanessa can create destructive spheres of energy with her mind."

Vanessa nodded and stretched out her hand, clenching it into a fist and forming a sphere of dark energy.

Candy tried several different things, but nothing worked. Aelita scratched her head in confusion. "Maybe your weapon is hidden. Odd couldn't find his until he accidentally almost shot Ulrich with a laser arrow."

Candy looked around her body, but there didn't appear to be anything that would hide her weapon.

"I can't do anything!" Candy threw her arms up in the air. When she bent her arms the way she did, silver fan like blades unfolded themselves, extending from her lower arm to upper arm. **(A/N Basically, imagine one of Yumi's opened fans glued to the outside of her arm.)**

Vanessa, Aelita and Candy starred at the blades in awe.

"Those are so cool." Vanessa muttered.

Candy examined the blades. "When I was little, my mom started to teach me to dance flamenco. I had trouble understanding it, and she told me about a goddess, Itzpaplotl, meaning clawed butterfly. The beautiful Aztec Goddess of sensuality, death, and fate. My mother showed me a documentary on Itzpaplotl, and there was a clip where Itzpaplotl was dancing flamenco. She had two fan blades on her arms like these, and she was able to fight using dance."

Candy eyed a small, nearby tree, and decided to test them out. She spun around, sweeping one leg in a circle, leaping backwards and swinging an arm around, the blade going through the tree trunk. Candy landed on the ground softly, and the tree fell over, leaving just the stump.

"What do you call them?" Aelita asked.

Candy shrugged. "They don't have a name."

"Girls! You can name her weapons later." Jeremie's voice rang through the digital sky. "The tower's straight ahead and Xana's monsters are guarding. Candy, have you ever driven a motorcycle?"

Candy knit her eyebrows together, thrown off by the weird question. "No, but I'm great on a dirt bike."

"Close enough."

The overboard and overbike virtualized in front of the three. Vanessa and Aelita climbed on the overboard, and Candy got on the bike.

"The tower is thirty degrees south, ten degrees west. Like I said, just go straight and you'll see it."

"Roger that." Vanessa said, before flying forward with Aelita behind her and Candy on her left, already mastering the over bike.

…

Yumi's fist pounded on the wood. She waited frantically in front of the door, hoping someone was home.

Yumi glanced at Ally, who looked nervous. "Yumi, are you sure it's here? I was dead when my sister bought this house. I don't think anything useful will be in here."

Yumi nodded her head. Ally quickly moved under the shelter of the porch, and that's when Yumi saw the curtains move in the window upstairs. Yumi saw Rose in the window, and waved. Rose waved and motioned that she'd be down in a minute. She disappeared from the window.

Yumi quickly turned to Ally. "Ally, can you tell whose inside?"

Ally closed her eyes, briefly glowing for a second before looking at Yumi. "Rose and the cat."

Yumi nodded. "I think you need to show yourself to Rose."

Ally's eyes grew wide. "What? Are you crazy? I can't show myself to Rose!"

Yumi knelt down in front of her. "Ally, I have a feeling that Rose can help us. You need to trust me. Trust your link."

Ally played with a lock of golden hair. "But, I don't know if I _can_. Physically _can_. Most people can't see me, even if I want them to. I've tried showing myself to my mom and dad, but they can't see me. The super natural order prevents it."

Yumi almost put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, forgetting she wasn't solid. "Trust me."

Ally nodded.

Yumi smiled. "Ok. Stay behind me until I tell you to come out."

Ally nodded and stepped behind her just as the door swung open.

"What is it with you kids, showing up on my door step so late?" Rose joked.

Yumi smiled. "Hi Rose."

Rose studied her for a moment. "You're Yumi right? Ulrich's girlfriend?"

Yumi nodded.

"Well what'cha doing out here, child? Aren't you supposed to be at that Boo Bash you kids were talking about the other night?"

Yumi twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "Well, I came here because I need your help."

Yumi took a breath. "Actually, _we_ need your help." Yumi said as she stepped to the left, revealing Ally.

…

Odd slowly circled around, trying to figure out which devil was real. He came to a halt, staring at one mirror in particular. He stared at the devil face that stood motionless. He slowly walked towards it, his hand outstretched, reaching, needing to know.

He sighed in relief when his hand hit the glass.

And he screamed when the devil in the mirror to his left jumped foreword and tackled him.

…

"I see the tower." Aelita yelled, reaching around Vanessa and pointing at the white building.

"But what are those things?" Candy said, pointing at the monsters.

Vanessa squinted, trying to make out the creatures. "Crabs and hornets. Watch out for lasers, and don't be afraid to crash the over bike into one of the crabs. I'm sure Ulrich won't mind."

Candy nodded and sped ahead of them, going after one of the two crabs. Vanessa glanced behind her at Aelita. "Hang on tight Aelita."

Aelita nodded and tightened her grip on Vanessa's waist. Vanessa sped forward towards the group of hornets. She shot a beam of energy at one of the hornets, and it exploded.

Candy narrowed her eyes as she drove full speed at one of the crabs. It started firing lasers at her, and she swerved to avoid them, before continuing her straight on attack. Just as the overbike was about to go beneath the crab, Candy pushed her elbows out, the blades slicing through the front pair of legs, and then the back.

She put on the breaks as she neared the edge of the platform, stopping just in time and turning to see the crab's body fall and explode.

…

"Alisha?"

Rose stared at Ally in shock. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked to Yumi. "Is this a joke?"

Ally shook her head, nervously twirling a lock of golden hair between her fingers. "No, it's really me Rose."

Rose knelt down in front of Ally. "But, ten years ago you… I was at your funeral… I thought you were…"

Ally nodded her head. "I am."

Rose broke down in tears and tried to throw her arms around the small child, but they passed through Ally like she was air.

"Child, can you make yourself solid? I just want to hug you poor thing."

Ally shook her head. "My body's gone; I don't have a solid physical form like you or Yumi. Sometimes I can compact enough energy to make a make-shift physical form, but it's really hard."

Rose wiped her tears away. "That's alright. Just seeing you is the greatest gift of all."

Ally swallowed. "I've been trapped for the past ten years. I haven't been able to leave earth. I can't move on, there's something keeping me here. Yumi's helping me find what it is, and she thinks it's here." Ally gestured to Yumi.

Rose slowly stood up, tears running down her cheeks. "Well don't just stand out there in the cold, come inside and let's start looking."

Yumi and Ally followed Rose inside, and almost immediately Yumi felt something drawing her up.

"Rose, where are the stairs?"

Rose led them down a hall to the staircase, which Yumi started to climb. Yumi got to the top, Rose and Ally behind her, and she started walking down one of the hallways.

She came to a halt. "Rose, is there an attic?"

…

Ulrich ran down the narrow hallway, the stupid bat flying right behind him. He had lost his wolfified soccer team, only to be found my Candy's vampired boyfriend.

Ulrich jerked to a halt as the bat came down in front of him, turning back into its vampire form.

Ulrich got in a fighting stance as Damián circled him.

Ulrich gritted his teeth together. "I always thought Jason was good with Candy. And right now, you're only aiding that thought."

As if on cue, the wolfified Jason came around the corner, growling at Ulrich. The growling only grew at the sight of Damián.

Ulrich smiled as he backed away from the wolf and vampire. They were too busy fighting each other to notice him making his escape.

…

Another beam of energy passed through the hornet, making it explode. The remaining six hornets fired at Vanessa.

Vanessa gasped as a laser hit the overboard.

The overboard devirtualized and Vanessa and Aelita dropped to the ground.

Vanessa groaned, sitting up on her knees. The hornets started firing at her and Aelita.

"Aelita, get behind me!"

Aelita dove behind Vanessa. Vanessa was hit a few times, and she crossed her arms in front of her, and a shield of black and purple energy formed in front of them.

Candy drove the over bike at the last crab. She was going to drive under it and slice through its legs, just like she did to the last one. But just as she was about to go under the crab, it moved out of the way.

Candy gasped, realizing she was about to go over the edge of the sector. She jumped from the bike as it went over the side, and landed on the ground. She muttered something in Spanish.

Candy faced the crab and narrowed her eyes. The monster started shooting at her, and she blocked the lasers with her fan-like blades.

Vanessa held the shield, gritting her teeth as she felt it begin to break. She reached one of her hands around, and shot at one of the hornets. The monster exploded and the other five kept firing at her. She hadn't drawn her hand back quickly enough, and a laser hit her wrist. She shook her hand, and brought it back to the shield.

Vanessa gasped, feeling the shield crack again, and knew she couldn't hold out much longer.

"Jeremie, how many life points do I have?"

"Thirty."

Vanessa muttered a small curse. "I'm gonna need some help then."

Jeremie nodded and spoke into the head set.

"Candy, ditch the crab. Vanessa needs help."

Candy blocked one last laser before running away, towards the other side of the forest platform where Vanessa was. "Whatever you say, comandante."

Vanessa strained to hold the shield, but it was going to crack. She reached around one more time and shot at another hornet, and it exploded. The other four continued their rapid fire. Vanessa gasped as her shield shattered into a million purple specks, and yelped as dozens of lasers pelted her. She pixalized, and was devirtualized.

The scanner opened, and Vanessa fell out.

Aelita gasped as the hornets charged up their lasers, ready to fire at her.

As if on cue, Candy leaped from behind the hornets, front flipping between the middle two and slicing through them with her blades. She landed in front of Aelita and spun around, facing the two remaining hornets. She brought her arms up, shielding Aelita and herself from the lasers from the two remaining hornets.

…

Odd ran through the dark hallways. He had found his way out of the mirror maze, and left the devil behind. Unfortunately, a rather fast zombie was chasing him.

Odd rounded a corner and darted down the hall. He rounded another corner and ran smack into something.

"Ulrich?"

"Odd?"

Odd helped Ulrich up. "Aw dude, I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a Johnny depp look-a-like." Odd said, referring to Ulrich's costume.

"And I don't think I've ever been happier to see a… whatever you are look-a-like." Ulrich eyed Odd's costume. His silk dress shirt was torn, and his black pants were tattered.

"Odd, what the hell are you and Aelita supposed to be?"

Odd looked down at himself and sighed. He might as well tell him.

"Honestly? Aelita and I just grabbed random stuff from the costume shop that was on sale."

Ulrich and Odd starred at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing.

A loud shriek made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. They turned around and yelped at the sight of a banshee, flying towards them. The two boys turned and began to run.

…

The attic door opened, making the ancient dust rise. Rose coughed and waved her hand in front of her face, before pulling herself through the small opening.

"Yumi, hand me one of the candles."

Yumi lit the candle and handed it up to Rose, before climbing up herself. She gazed around at the old furniture, lamps, pillows, clothes, books and boxes. Yumi lit her own candle, and called for Ally to come up.

Ally pulled herself up into the attic. She glowed, lighting up the attic even more.

Ally wrapped her arms around herself. She shivered. "This place is creepy."

Yumi starred at her. "You're a ghost. You find this creepy?"

Ally whimpered. "But it's dark."

Yumi stared at her. She had forgotten that this ghost was a little girl. "Ally, you're glowing like a night light. The dark won't hurt you."

Ally hesitantly nodded her head.

Rose blew the dust off of an old table. "So, what are we looking for?"

Yumi gazed around. "Something from Ally's past. I'm not really sure. Just let me know if you find anything that sticks out."

Rose nodded and began to look through some boxes. Yumi made her way over to the other side of the attic. Her eyes skimmed over a book case, a love seat, and a dozen stacked boxes.

Yumi stopped. She starred at the boxes for a moment, before moving towards the pile of boxes. She grabbed the top box and lifted it down. Opening it, she frowned at an old hat inside.

Yumi reached up again and pulled another box down, and stopped. She placed the box on the ground and started to disassemble the stack of boxes. When she was done, she starred at what had been hidden behind the boxes.

…

Odd and Ulrich ran around the corner and gasped.

Dead end.

The two boys turned around and got in a battle stance, preparing themselves as the banshee flew around the corner.

…

Vanessa ran out of the elevator over to Jeremie. She jumped up onto the arm of the chair and stared at the computer screen. "How's Candy doing?"

"They're cornered." Jeremie said, biting his nails.

Candy grunted as she strained to block each laser. Each hit pushed her farther back, (and Aelita back) closer and closer to the edge of the platform.

Aelita backed up again. She glanced behind her and realized that she was on the edge of the platform, and if she backed up any more she would fall off.

"Candy!" Aelita breathed.

Candy glanced behind her and noticed the edge. She turned back around and blocked another laser from the hornets.

"Aelita." Candy mumbled. "When I say 'now', I'm going to turn around. Jump onto my blades. I'll hold them parallel with the ground."

Aelita stared at the back of Candy's head in confusion, but she slowly agreed.

The hornets kept firing, and Candy kept blocking. Finally, they shot at the same time.

"Now!" Candy blocked the attack and spun around, crossing her arms and raising her elbows, creating a flat surface with the side of her blades_. _Aelita jumped onto the silver surface, and Candy thrust her arms up.

Aelita was flung over the two hornets and landed behind them.

Candy leaped between the hornets and spun, her blades slicing through the last hornets. She landed with a soft thud as the creatures blew up above her.

Aelita rubbed her head as Candy ran over to her and knelt beside her.

"Sorry chika. I didn't mean to throw you that hard."

Aelita smiled and stood up with Candy. "I'm ok. You're doing great. You've taken out four hornets and two crabs on your first Lyoko trip. Defiantly something to be proud of."

Candy looked at her in confusion. "I only got one crab…"

Candy yelped as a laser hit her in the side, sending her flying across the platform.

Aelita gasped and spun around, facing the crab.

…

Yumi ran her hand over the wooden chest that she had found. She scowled at the dust, and blew it away.

"Rose, Ally, come here."

Rose and Ally came over to her, and Ally gasped.

"That's mine!"

Rose slowly nodded. "I remember now. After Sarah moved here, your parents moved a lot of their old stuff into this attic because it was taking up to much space. I remember bringing this trunk up here with your father. It was very heavy."

Yumi ran her hand over the lock. She tugged on the lid, but it wouldn't budge.

"It's locked." Yumi muttered.

"No!" Rose said. "It will take us forever to find the key!"

Ally stared at the lock and slowly moved towards it. She sat down next to Yumi. Ally reached into the collar of her ghostly night gown and pulled out something silver. A key hung on the end of her necklace that had been hidden under her night gown.

Ally brought the key up to the lock and closed her eyes. The key and her started to glow. The key became solid and Ally fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Ally!" Yumi gasped. Ally's eyes fluttered open, and she gestured to the key that had clattered to the ground.

Yumi carefully reached for the key, and was surprised to see that it was solid. She brought it up to the lock, and pushed it in.

It fit perfectly.

The lid popped open, and Rose and Yumi lifted it. Inside the chest were toys, books, crayons and board games. All of Ally's old things.

Ally's eyes lit up at the sight of her old things. She watched as Yumi began to dig through them.

…

"Candy! You have ten life points left!" Jeremie yelled into the headset. Vanessa yanked the mike from Jeremie. "You have to protect Aelita!" She screamed.

Candy stood up and raced towards Aelita.

"Aelita, get down!" Candy shouted.

Aelita dropped to her hands and knees. Candy stepped onto her back and jumped. She landed on top of the crab and slashed the eye with her blades. The crab exploded and she was thrown from it, landing on her back. She lifted her head a bit to see Aelita disappear into the tower.

"Jeremie, where is Aelita going?"

Jeremie and Vanessa sighed in relief as they saw Aelita enter the tower. Jeremie smiled. "You did it Candy."

…

Odd and Ulrich sat in the corner, watching the banshee move closer and closer to them.

"Well, it's been an honor working with you Ulrich."

Ulrich gulped and looked at Odd. He nodded. "You to buddy."

Their eyes returned to the banshee inches in front of their faces.

…

"Tower deactivated."

…

Odd and Ulrich gasped as the banshee fell to the ground. It began to glow, and changed. They watched as it became a human again, sitting up and holding its head.

"Sissi?" Ulrich shrieked.

Sissi rubbed her head. "Uhg. What happened?"

…

Yumi slowly pulled out a pink book.

"That's my diary."Ally said.

Yumi could feel something inside her burst with energy. She gazed at Ally. "This is it. This is what we've been looking for."

Yumi opened the diary and flipped through it, until she found the last entry. She carefully read it and gasped. Her mind filled with visions, and she finally understood.

_Tim and Linda Crosby, sitting at the kitchen table._

"_Linda, the last conversation I had with Ally was a fight. She must have hated me! The last words I ever said to my daughter before she died were 'go to bed with no supper young lady!'."_

_Linda placed a hand over her husband's. "Tim, none of us knew she would die. Leukemia is a crazy thing. I'm sure her last thoughts were that she loves you."_

_Tim shook his head. "No. She was probably thinking about how terrible her daddy was. I wish I could have been a better father."_

Yumi shook her head as her eyes returned to the page in the diary. "This is it. Ally, you've remained here because of your subconscious. You need to make sure your dad knows you love him. That's what's kept you trapped all these years."

…

"Return to the past now!"

…

The gang blinked as they found themselves inside Sarah Crosby's house from the night before. Candy let out a little gasp, and Ulrich quickly covered her mouth.

They heard the front door open from down the hall. Voices echoed into the living room. "There's Sarah and my god parents." Colin stood up and left the living room to greet them.

Rose however, did not get up. She sat in her rocking chair, slightly confused.

"What?"

Vanessa looked at Rose innocently. "What's wrong Rose?"

Rose shook her head. "I think I fell asleep or somethin'. Dreamed I was in the attic with Yumi and Ally."

The seven teens and Rose watched as Ally came in from the back door. Rose put her head in her hands.

"Dear lord! Now I'm seeing things!"

Yumi gasped. "Ally, what's going on? Why can Rose remember?"

Ally smiled. "Some things can't be affected by time, Yumi." Ally slipped back into the shadows as Tim, Linda, and Sarah Crosby came back into the room along with Colin.

"Guys," Colin said. "This is my god father Tim, my god mother Linda, and my god sister Sarah."

The gang politely greeted them. Colin glances at Rose, puzzled.

"Rose, is something wrong?"

Rose knit her eyebrows together. "I'm not sure. You ever get the feeling where you feel like you gotta do somethin', but you don't know what it is?"

Yumi felt something poking her back. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw Ally hiding behind her. Ally was poking her with something small and silver, and solid.

Yumi gently took the key necklace from Ally, and walked foreword. Ulrich moved to cover Ally from the adults sight.

"Rose?" Yumi said softly. "Does this help you remember?" Yumi carefully slipped the key necklace in Rose's hand. Rose studied it for a moment, thinking.

"I think so. Would you all excuse me for a moment? I think there's somethin' I gotta do." Rose stood up from the rocking chair and disappeared down the hallway, towards the stairs.

A while later, Rose returned. She held a pink book in her hands.

"Rose," Linda Crosby began. "What is that?"

Rose carefully inspected the book in her hands. Yumi, who had returned to cover Ally, could feel the ghostly girls breathing speed up in anticipation.

"Tim, Linda." Rose breathed. "This is Alisha's diary."

They were silent for a moment, before Tim said "How did you find it?"

Rose looked at Yumi. "I had a dream. That girl and Alisha came to me, asking for help. Yumi lead us to the attic, to an old trunk. And Ally had a key that opened the trunk, and this is the key." Rose starred at the key in awe, before handing it back to Yumi. "We opened the trunk, and inside was a book. A diary. Ally's diary. And, the diary was supposed to free Ally, so that she could move on. Heaven I suppose. Tim, I think you should read the last entry."

Rose held out the diary. Slowly, Tim took it. He opened up the book, and flipped through to the last entry. He adjusted his glasses and squinted at the words.

Yumi inwardly smiled. She could remember the words from when she had read it.

_January 3__rd__, 2000_

_Dear Diary_

_Daddy and I just got in a fite. I hate him! He sent me to bed without any dinner. But I really dont mind the no dinner part, cause my stomacs been feeling weird all day. Mommy says that its cause of my lookimia. I always hate feelin yucky. Daddy promiced me that when I get better, we can do somethin to help other kids with lookimia. I think thats really nice of him. I take back what I said about hatin him. He was just upset. I would be to if someone put my work papers in the fish tank. I love my mommy and daddy very much. I love my daddy very much and I know he loves me to. I hope he knows that I love him. I'll love my daddy until the day I die, and I'll still love him after that. Tomorro mornin I'll go downstars and tell him that. Im tired. Im going to bed. I'll write in you tomorro! Good night._

_-Ally_

Tim Crosby's eyes moved up from the diary, tears running down his cheeks. Yumi could hear Ally sigh with relief behind her.

Ally started to glow. Brighter than Yumi had ever seen her glow before. Everyone shielded their eyes as the blinding light filled the room. And when it finally resided, Ally stood in the center of it all, visible to all, and _solid._

"How?" Yumi breathed.

Ally looked at her solid hands and smiled. "It's a temporary physical form. It will go away in a couple minutes when I leave earth for good. It's just so I can make a few amends before I leave forever."

"Ally?"

The small girl slowly turned to face her parents and older sister.

And then, something weird happened.

A tear actually ran down her cheek. Yumi had never seen the girl cry.

Ally ran to her family, and hugged them. They started to cry, and the teens did to.

Tim Crosby went down on his knees, so he was eye level with the child. "Ally, I love you more than you can ever imagine, and I'm sorry that I've kept you trapped here for ten years."

Ally wiped her eyes. "It's ok daddy. It's not your fault."

Tim hugged Ally again, tears free falling down his face.

"Daddy?"

"Mmhmm?"

Ally pulled away a bit to see her father's face. "You kept your promise. I've been to every single shock walk."

Tim Crosby lightly ruffled her hair and hugged her again.

Ally lead them all out onto the balcony, saying that she wanted her last moment on earth to be outside.

Ally turned and faced the group of teens. "Thank you. So much. I never could have done this without all your help." Ally stepped forward and said her good byes with all of them. She made sure to hug each one of them. She finally got to Yumi. "Especially you. Thank you Yumi."

Yumi couldn't take it. She dropped to her knees and hugged the little girl, tears rivering down her cheeks. "I'm proud to be your link Ally."

Ally tightened her arms around Yumi's neck, digging her face into her shoulder. "And I'm proud to be your in-between."

Yumi gently pulled away and held out her open hand. The silver key necklace sat in her palm. "Here. This is yours."

Ally carefully took the necklace and softly smiled. She carefully draped it over _Yumi's_ head, settling it around Yumi's neck. Yumi brought a hand up and touched the key.

"You keep it. Never forget me Yumi."

More tears fell from Yumi's eyes as she hugged the girl one last time. "I won't."

Yumi let Ally go and stood up. Ally had started to glow again, this time lightly shimmering.

"It's time."

Ally embraced her parents one last time, saying her last good byes. She slowly walked over to the railing.

The shimmering that covered her body grew, and gusts of wind whipped her golden locks and night gown. Ally gently smiled at them before facing the wind. She tilted her head back and smiled at the sky, throwing her arms back. The wind flowed around her, flowed _with _her. Her form becoming nothing but the purest form of light, the purest form of energy, breaking down to what we all truly are inside. With one last giggle, the shimmering mass burst, and the little sparks of light were whisked away towards the sky.

Ally was gone.


	50. Chapter 50: Snow

**This is just a little chapie that marks the beginning of winter in the Lyoko world. **

Aelita sighed and continued to twirl a strand of pink hair around her finger that had fallen from her pony tail. Jim continued his lecture on physical activity, specifically badminton, making large gestures with the racket he held in his hand.

She sighed and leaned back, placing her hands behind her on the gym floor while stretching her legs out in front of her. She wondered why Jim would be yelling at them for not being physically active enough, when _he_ was the one making them sit on the floor for half an hour as he talked.

She felt a little tingle shoot up her fingertips, and looked down at her hand. Another hand had weaved its fingers into hers. Aelita looked up at the hands owner, and her heart filled with warmth as her eyes found his.

Aelita smiled at Odd before turning back to Jim.

A few feet away, Yumi and Ulrich sat together. Yumi sat criss-cross-apple sauce with her hands clasped in her lap. Ulrich sat behind her, up on his knees as he played with her long black hair and attempted to braid it. I say attempt for a reason.

Yumi cringed when she felt a knot being yanked. "Ow! Ulrich!" She harshly whispered.

Ulrich made a grunting noise. "Sorry. Uhg. Why do girls find this fun?"

Yumi rolled her eyes but didn't bother to hide the smile spreading over her lips. She cringed again when she felt Ulrich pulling her hair.

"Ulrich!" She hissed.

Vanessa, who had been sitting a few feet from them, shifted over and sat next to Ulrich. She lightly swatted his hands away and quickly and expertly redid Yumi's braid.

"Hey…" Ulrich whined.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You're such a girl Ulrich."

Ulrich lightly frowned. "According to what I've learned in health class I'm not."

Candy lightly giggled. She sat right beside Yumi, sitting criss-cross as well, her knee lightly touching Yumi's. Candy immediately hushed when she received a stern looking glare from Jim. Once Jim looked away to continue his speech, Candy sighed.

"When is Jim going to shut up?" She softly mumbled.

Jeremie, who was sitting right beside her with his knee's pulled to his chest, shrugged.

"Hey, as long as he's talking, we're not doing any physical activity. And that's just fine with me."

"Hey!" Jim shouted directly at the seven teens. "Is there something you seven would like to share with the class?"

The teen's replied with silence and semi-scared looks. Jim nodded his head. "Uh huh. That's what I thought. Now, as I was saying…"

Jim continued the tedious speech. Bored, Odd's eyes began to roam else wear. Over the rock wall, past the mats, past Aelita, up the ropes, past Aelita again, to the windows.

Odd's mouth dropped open as he gasped. His mouth formed into a broad smile as he said aloud "No way!"

All eyes turned to Odd, and then to the windows to see what he was seeing. Gasps and little shrieks of delight moved through the class.

"Snow!"

The class rushed to the windows, shoving past one another as they pressed their faces against the glass.

Indeed, there was snow. And lots of it. There was only a thin layer of snow coating the ground, but by the way it was coming down, the teens knew that they'd have at least a foot by the next morning. Snowflakes gently landed on the windows, melting after a moment of rest. Excited murmurs rang through the class, all of them eager to go out and play in it.

"Oh come on!" Jim shouted. "It's like you kids have never seen snow before! There was tons of it in the North Pole when I was studying penguins!"

Ulrich's face pulled away from the glass for a moment to see Jim. "You studied penguins in the north pole Jim?"

"Well yes, but I'd rather not talk about it."

Ulrich shrugged before he re-plastered his face to the window.

Jim yelled at them a few more times, trying to get them to get away from the window, but they wouldn't move.

Finally, Jim sighed in defeat. "Alright. I see there's no breaking you kids. Go play." Jim pointed to the doors.

Shrieks of joy rang through the gym as the teens ran through the doors into the snow storm. Many of them were only in shorts and t-shirts but they didn't mind.

This was the first snow fall of the year.


	51. Chapter 51: Discovery

**Hey! Wow I haven't updated in a LONG time. Stupid high school! So, I have Candy and Vanessa's bio's up on my profile if you ever want to look at them. I'm considering making a website where I can post a bunch of pictures, facts, and character bios. I'll work on that. I don't own code Lyoko, or Uggs Australia, or Pepsi, Crisco, or really any big brand names. I made up the name Sharlot Ananomy, so if there really is someone out there with that name… congratulations? Oh, and my apologies to all my readers who are against cussing, but Vanessa uses some in this chapter.**

_Ulrich awoke to the sound of banging on the door. He sat up in bed, being careful not to hit his head on the top bunk. He heard Odd shift in the higher bed, having awoken from the noise as well._

_Ulrich rolled out of bed, and was almost crushed by Odd as he jumped down from the top bunk._

_Odd smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."_

_Ulrich rolled his eyes and walked over to the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He pulled the door open, and was immediately encountered by Aelita._

_The girl was wailing, tears running down her cheeks as she hugged the older boy, the older brother figure she had known since her awakening in Lyoko. Ulrich, confused and stunned, looked over at Odd for help. Odd looked equally confused, and stood in place as dumbfounded as Ulrich._

_Ulrich pulled his arms around the younger girl. "Aelita? What happened?"_

_Aelita continued to scream and cry into his chest, and she finally looked up at him._

"_Yumi committed suicide."_

Ulrich shot up in bed, gasping for air. His eyes darted around the room, full of panic.

"Odd!"

Odd shot up. "Who? Wha? Did the cafeteria blow up?"

"Odd! Is Yumi ok?" Ulrich shouted, jumping out of bed.

Odd blinked. "Wha? How should I know? It's like, 11 o'clock at night Ulrich!"

Ulrich began to calm down, realizing what happened. "I dreamt that Yumi committed suicide."

Odd blinked once more, before he let out a groan and fell back into his pillow. "You woke me up for _that?_" He whined.

Ulrich ignored him, already pulling his winter coat on over his black pajama t- shirt and green plaid pajama pants.

…

Ulrich grunted as he pulled himself over the railing. Normally, it was easy for him to get up onto Yumi's balcony. He had done it, what? Ten times? It had become a habit of him, and Yumi wasn't surprised anymore when he showed up at two o'clock in the morning wanting to talk to her. She had offered to give him a key so that he could go in without having to knock, but Ulrich said that it felt more normal for him to knock before entering his girlfriend's room. Yumi then pointed out that they, and the rest of the gang for that matter, weren't normal. Ulrich still insisted on climbing up the stupid tree and knocking though.

Now that it was December, a thin layer of ice coated the railing, and when he had been climbing the cherry tree, tons of snow would fall from the branches above him and cover him in the white stuff.

He walked across the wooden planks, shivering as the winter winds blew at his face. He looked up at the sliding glass doors, a thin layer of ice frozen onto it. He brought his fist up to the glass and lightly tapped on it.

After a moment of standing in the cold, he saw the curtains covering the glass door being pushed aside, giving him a clear view of Yumi's room and Yumi herself.

Hand still holding the curtain, Yumi was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her hand dropped from her face and landed on the doors lock. Ulrich heard a click, and the door slid open.

"Ulrich…" Yumi gasped a bit as Ulrich's eager lips met hers and his arms wrapped around her. Yumi gave into the kiss for a moment, kissing him back with equal fever.

She gently pushed him away, and looked up into his eyes. The winter winds nipped at her skin. She was only wearing a lacy black tang top, light blue fuzzy pj pants with penguins on them, and penguin slippers.

"Get in here. It's freezing out there."

Ulrich nodded and stepped inside. Yumi slid the door shut behind him, locking it. Ulrich shrugged off his coat, letting it fall to the floor. He stepped out of his boots, and turned to Yumi.

"Are you feeling alright Yumi?" Ulrich asked, grasping her arms.

Yumi nodded, a little confused.

"Like, you haven't been feeling depressed or anything lately, right?"

Yumi shook her head. "No. I've been feeling ok."

"And you know that you're loved by everyone in our group? Right?"

"Yeah…"

"That we would all be crushed if you were gone? That I would _die_ if something happened to you? That I love you?"

Yumi looked up at him confused. "Ulrich… what happened?"

Ulrich pulled her close to him, staring into her eyes. "Just promise me you'll never do anything to hurt yourself. Please. I need to know that you're safe. That you're ok."

Yumi rested her head on his chest. "Ulrich… I'm fine. I'm perfectly happy. Don't worry. I'm not planning on committing suicide or anything stupid like that."

Ulrich nodded. "Ok."

She tilted her head up, and softly smiled at him. He smiled down at her, before swooping down and meeting her lips.

After what seemed like forever, they parted. Ulrich pulled away from her, turning away towards the door. "I gotta get back to the dorms before Odd wakes up and finds out I'm gone."

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and turned back around to Yumi.

She was frowning. "Ulrich, it's less than ten degrees Fahrenheit out there. You're going to freeze to death. Odd won't care if you're not there. It's Friday."

Ulrich softly smiled. "I love the faith you have in my best friend."

Yumi rolled her eyes, and firmly gripped his arm. "Whatever. I'm not letting you go back out in the cold." She spun around, and walked over to her bed. She grabbed a remote from her bed side table, and pointed it at the gas fire place on the opposite wall. Pushing a button, the fire burning in the fire place slightly grew, warming the room.

Yumi set the remote down, kicked off her slippers, and climbed into her bed, leaving enough space to make it obvious that she wanted Ulrich beside her.

Ulrich blushed. "But, what if your parents come in? They might think we, err, you know…"

Yumi blushed a little bit, but rolled her eyes to cover for herself. "Dad's away on business until next Tuesday, and mom took Hiroki to see our grandmother for the weekend."

Ulrich was still blushing, but he finally gave up. He cautiously made his way over to Yumi's bed, and slipped under the covers.

Immediately, Yumi snuggled up against him. Ulrich gave in, wrapping his arms around her and as she tucked her head beneath his chin. He liked being in that position with her. He felt like he could protect her, and keep her safe from all the terrible things in the world. She was his to protect, love, and care for.

He was almost asleep, when he heard Yumi's soft voice.

"Ulrich?" Yumi mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"I love you." Yumi said softly, drifting off to sleep.

"I love you to." Ulrich whispered, as the two of them drifted off into dream land together.

…

"I'm just saying. It doesn't make any sense." Odd said calmly.

"ODD. It is backed by scientific evidence." Jeremie stated.

"So? Science isn't always right. What about that theorem that if you push on a wall you will pass through it without breaking it?"

"Stupid!"

"Jepsis!"

"That isn't a word!"

"_You're_ not a word!"

Aelita, Candy, and Vanessa sat on the bench they usually sat on. They looked back and forth between Jeremie and Odd, trying to keep track of the bickering.

Vanessa sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and head in her hand. "What are they fighting about again?"

Aelita shrugged, leaning back against the bench. "I don't know, but they've been going at it for twenty minutes."

Candy looked between Odd and Jeremie, lightly smirking. "It started out with Odd saying something about Icicles on the trees falling and stabbing people, retorting with Jeremie saying that the icicles wouldn't pick up enough speed to pierce skin, which somehow led to if the longest flight of a chicken is really thirteen seconds, leading up to whether or not Lewis Carrol actually had micropsia, or if he was just insane, and Odd calling Jeremie a jepsis, and ya dee da dee da."

Vanessa blinked. "What the heck's a jepsis?"

Candy tilted her head to the fight taking place in front of them. "That's what they're fighting about right now." Candy noticed the two boys angrily starring at her.

Odd crossed his arms. "Well, Miss I'm-so-perfect-and-know-the-answer-to-everything-because-I'm-such-a-Marry-Sue. Why don't you enlighten us and tell us what you think."

Jeremie crossed his arms to. "Yeah. I wanna hear this."

Candy rubbed her chin. "Well, if the icicles were big enough, they could probably pierce skin. I'm not exactly sure about the science of all that, but I remember my uncle Paco telling me about the time he was hit in the head with an icicle and got a concussion... but that's debatable. Lewis Carol was probably both insane, and suffering from micropsia. But either or, he was still creepy enough to write Alice in Wonderland. And I don't know if Jepsis is legit. Californians create some pretty weird stuff, so it might be a real word. As for the Chicken thing, the longest flight I've seen from a chicken was seven seconds long, and that was on my Uncle Carlos's farm where he feeds the chickens Crisco, so then that comes into play…"

Odd cut in. "I swear I've seen a chicken fly for at least fifteen seconds! It was when my family was vacationing in Montana four years ago! Vanessa, you were there! You saw it fly!"

Vanessa grasped her head and groaned. "Odd…! Jeremie's a walking computer. I think he knows how long a god damn chicken can fly for."

Odd looked at Jeremie, frowning when he saw the boy smirking in satisfactory. "Sorry Odd, but according to Sharlot Ananomy's research, a chicken is only capable of flight for thirteen seconds."

"But I _know_ this chicken flew for fifteen!"

"Then why didn't you call Sharlot Ananomy and tell her she was wrong?" Candy shouted, annoyed with the completely pointless argument.

Candy smiled at the boys surprised faces, and satisfyingly leaned back on the bench. The other two girls laughed, and Aelita pointed at Jeremie and Odd.

"Ohhhh! Burned by the ginger!"

Odd frowned. "Hey! I'm the one who taught you what a ginger is, and what a burn is, Aelita! You can't go around declaring burns on your teacher!"

Aelita giggled and kicked at the snow, gently flicking some at Odd.

Odd smiled at her, and was ready to kick some snow back at her when something caught his eye. He looked past the three girls sitting on the bench, towards the gate where two people were entering.

Odd smiled. "Yo Ulrich! I was worried when you didn't come back from Yumi's house last night!" Odd shouted across the snow covered yard, making sure everyone heard him.

Ulrich and Yumi blushed, and Ulrich angrily glared at Odd. "Odd, I'll give you a ten second head start to run!"

Odd yelped and turned, running away from the others as he darted through the deep snow. Ulrich soon took off after him.

"Hey! That was only five seconds!" Odd shouted over his shoulder.

Yumi walked over to her friends and stood next to Jeremie, resting her elbow on his shoulder.

"Hey guys."

They smiled and said their hellos, before getting down to business.

"Ok girls," said Jeremie. Odd and Ulrich's yells could be heard in the background. "I've been working on Aelita's antivirus program but I need more information. What do you say to a little field trip to Sector 5?"

Candy looked up at him, confused. "Sector 5? I thought there were only four. The mountain, ice, forest, and dessert."

"Sector 5 isn't like the other ones." Aelita said. "It's the center of Lyoko, and where we can collect important data."

"So what do you say, ladies?" Jeremie said, watching Odd and Ulrich dart across the white yard.

Aelita smiled. "I'm in."

Yumi nodded in agreement. "Me too."

"I'll go." Vanessa said.

Candy nervously bit her finger nails. "I guess I'll go too."

Odd who had been running past, slid to a stop behind the bench. "If the ginger's in, I'm in!" Odd looked to his right and yelped just as Ulrich trucked into him sending them flailing into the snow.

…

The gang loaded off the elevator into the computer room, and Jeremie walked over to the chair. He shrugged his red winter coat off and sat down. He was wearing a navy t-shirt with a red long sleeve shirt underneath, blue jeans and sneakers.

Yumi walked up and stood behind him, peering at the screen as she pulled off her navy jacket.

"So do you think you'll be able to create the antivirus soon?" She was wearing a long sleeve white shirt with thick black stripes, and a black bubble vest over the top. Black jeans covered her legs and black boots covered her feet.

"Yeah, sure. Cause creating a deactivation code to a code that binds a digitally impaired human to a mentally impaired AI whom wants to kill us isn't hard or anything." Jeremie said sarcastically.

Yumi lightly swatted him on the back of the head. "Don't sass me."

Odd appeared next to Yumi, looking at the screen. He had taken off his dual purple coat and was wearing a black t-shirt and a purple long sleeve shirt underneath. Dark purple jeans hung loosely at his hips, and orange sneakers snuggly fit his feet. "Do you think there will be monsters?"

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "I was hoping we'd have the element of surprise on our side, but knowing Xana, I can guarantee he'll be prepared to send monsters."

Odd pumped his fist and spun around, almost running into Candy.

"Hey! Now we get to see what Candy looks like on Lyoko!"

Candy giggled lightly at the boy. Having already taken off her chocolate colored coat, she was currently wearing a turquoise tunic that went a little past her hips, white jeans with a bunch of rips in them, and beige boots with an intricate stitching pattern. Her red hair was straightened, and the wisps of hair on either side of her face were dyed light blue, framing her face perfectly and looking like delicate feathers.

Vanessa appeared on the other side of Candy, smiling. She was wearing a dual purple loose, silky top that draped down her torso, with a thin black jacket over it. A thick silver belt wrapped around her waist, on top of the jacket. She was wearing dark skinny jeans and black Uggs. "Ready to go everyone?"

Ulrich dropped his green coat next to Yumi's. He was wearing a long sleeved grey button down, blue jeans, and black sneakers. Ulrich rested his hand on Aelita's shoulder. "Yup. Lets free our princess."

Aelita smiled up at him. She had already dropped her maroon coat, and was wearing blue skinny jeans and a pink loose top with pink sequins all over it. Her pink hair hung a little past her shoulders, and side bangs graced her forehead. She was wearing a pair of grey, classic cardy Uggs that Vanessa had gone nuts over and insisted on buying for Aelita.

The gang filtered back into the elevator, leaving Jeremie in the lab as they went down to the scanners. Aelita, Vanessa, and Candy hung back as Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd took their place in each scanner.

"Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Odd. Virtualization."

"Scanner Aelita. Scanner Vanessa. Scanner Caramella." Jeremie hesitated as he transferred Candy. Something looked… off about her coding. He shrugged, deciding to look at it later. "Virtualization."

Odd, Ulrich and Yumi landed on the dessert sector.

A moment later, Vanessa, Aelita, and Candy's forms digitalized, and the three girls fell, Aelita and Vanessa on their feet, and Candy landing a little rougher, it only being her second time on Lyoko.

Yumi examined Candy, before giving one of her incredibly rare girlish squeals. "Candy! Your outfit is sooo cute!"

Candy smiled, posing. "Right?"

Odd smirked. "I wouldn't mind seeing Aelita in that." He said, eyeing the semi-revealing clothing. He received a punch in the arm from Aelita, a light slap in the face from Candy, and swat upside the head from Yumi.

Ulrich also scanned the girl's body, but with different motives than Odd. "Weapon?"

Candy smiled, crossing her arms in front of her face and then whipping them to the side, causing the two silver blades to unfold themselves from the sides of her arms.

Ulrich smiled. "Nice."

"Alright guys." Jeremie said, cracking his knuckles. "It's a short ride to the edge of the sector, and the transport orb will take you from there."

The gang nodded as the four vehicles digitalized in front of them. Ulrich on the over bike, Yumi and Candy got on the over wing, Odd and Aelita on the over board, and Vanessa on the overdisk. **(A/N: See chapter 16 if you don't remember it) **Even though Jeremy had made the vehicle for Aelita, Vanessa started to use it because it made for sense for Aelita to ride with one of the others and have protection.

Yumi and Candy took off, then Vanessa, and just as Aelita and Odd were about to take off, Aelita caught Ulrich's eye. He glanced from Yumi, to her, back to Yumi, and back to her.

Aelita lightly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, as if asking 'what's wrong?'

Ulrich just shook his head and sped off, following Yumi.

Confused, Aelita gripped Odd's waist tighter. He let out a small grunt.

"Jeez princess. If you wanted to go you could have just said so. You're squeezing the air out of my lungs." He said with a smile.

Aelita giggled and loosened her grip a bit. The overboard sped foreword.

The six reached the end of the sector and abandoned their vehicles, getting as close to the edge as they dared. The transport orb appeared, circling around them and taking them to sector 5.

…

The six teen's found themselves in the arena, backs to each other in a circle.

As the walls spun around them, Ulrich glanced to either side of him, seeing Candy and Aelita. He looked over his shoulder seeing Odd between Vanessa and Yumi.

"Odd, we're outnumbered by the girls."

Yumi laughed. "Now you know how I felt in the first season."

The hallway opened up, and the teens filtered out. They entered the large blue room, walking out across a large beam. The ceiling was really high, and various beams shot across between the four walls in no particular pattern. They looked down, and they couldn't see the floor, just more beams shooting out across the open space below them.

They scanned the room with their eyes, in search of the key.

"Look for Xana's eye." Ulrich said to Candy. "That's what the key looks like."

Candy pointed up at the ceiling. "Found it."

The other five tilted their heads back, looking through the complex layers of beams to the ceiling, where they to, spotted the key.

"Nice going ginger." Odd said. He lowered his gaze to look at the others. He smiled, cat like. "It'll take someone with cat-like reflexes to get up there. I'll get it."

Odd leaped from the ground, reaching for the lowest beam. He dug his claws into the beam, before pulling himself up onto it. Now standing, he crouched down and then pounced onto the next beam, and quickly continued his accent.

Yumi's eyes drifted from Odd as she lazily scanned the room. Her eyes widened and with a gasp, she jumped in front of Aelita, blocking a laser with her body to save the younger girl. Yumi was hit in the stomach, and she was knocked backwards, narrowly missing Aelita as she fell to the ground.

"Yumi!" Ulrich dropped onto one knee as he put a hand on Yumi's shoulder, helping her sit up. He looked towards the source of the laser, and glaring when he saw several creepers coming towards them. "A little warning next time, Jeremie!"

Jeremie smiled sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. You try processing twenty three different types of information at once."

Candy brought her arms up, unfolding her blades as Yumi did the same with her fans. Ulrich's sword was already unsheathed.

Vanessa stood in front of Aelita, a shield of purple energy already up as lasers began to come their way.

Vanessa looked up at her brother, scowling. "Odd, at any time, you could hurry up!"

Odd scowled as he leaped to the next beam. He came short, and only barely managed do dig his claw into the side, preventing him from falling all the way back to the ground.

Growling, he pulled himself up onto the beam. "Despite my cat-like grace, climbing up here isn't all that easy, V!"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Funny. That's not what you said when we were climbing the Himalayas."

Odd jumped to the side to avoid a storm of stray lasers, almost falling off the side of the beam. "Well there weren't any creepers firing lasers at me when we were _climbing the Himalayas!_"

"Would you just," Vanessa ended her sentence in a gasp as a laser shattered her shield. "Crap!"

Lasers pelted Vanessa's body, for she was too disoriented to bring up another shield.

She could only focus on one thing.

Protect Aelita.

With a hard thrust, Vanessa pushed Aelita over the side of the beam, Aelita letting out a scream as she fell. Vanessa pushed her arms down, palms facing the falling girl as she summoned a wall of shimmering purple energy to form beneath Aelita, forming a sort of slide, and Aelita slid down it safely onto a lower beam.

Just in time too.

Because just as the slide dumped the small girl onto the safety of the beam, Vanessa was hit by a final laser, devirtualising her.

…

The golden doors to the scanner opened, revealing Vanessa slumped against the base.

With a shout of frustration, her fist hit the cold metal side.

"Do I _always_ have to be the first to be devirtualized?"

…

"You guys, Vanessa was just devirtualised. Aelita's alone a few beams below you!" Jeremie shouted into the mic.

Ulrich, Candy and Yumi were already preoccupied with a couple dozens of creepers however.

Candy caught Ulrich and Yumi's eyes. "I'll protect her. As soon as I get these _things_ off my back." Candy said as she sliced through a creeper that was one swat away from taking her head off.

"Well hurry." Jeremie said. "There are some creepers heading for her right now!"

Odd's ears perked at this. He leaped up onto another beam. "How am I doing on time Jeremie?"

Jeremie glanced at the countdown. "A little short of thirty seconds. Hurry up Odd!"

Two of Yumi's fans sliced through another creeper, causing another bright explosion.

Her eyes narrowed as a smile played on her lips, catching the fans in her raised hands.

The smile quickly fell, though, at the sound of an odd squealing sound behind her.

She turned, coming face to face with yet _another _creeper.

"How many of these things _are _there?" She muttered, drawing her fans out again. However, the creeper spun, knocking the fans away from her with its tail and off the side of the beam they were fighting on.

Yumi glanced over the edge of the beam, seeing her fans get lost in the abyss below them.

She slowly backed away from the creeper, muttering a curse in Japanese at the loss of her weapon. "Jeremie, I could use another set of fans."

"Coming right up. Just give me a minute."

Yumi frowned and dodged a swipe of the creepers arm. "I don't have a minute, I need them now!"

The creeper was about to fire at her again, when the familiar sound of 'triplicate!' echoed through the room, followed closely by 'triangulate!' Three Ulrich's surrounded the creeper and Yumi, and the creeper looked around confused, before turning back to Yumi, ready to shoot her.

To its shock, the girl was gone. It looked around confused again, and fully turned around, coming face to face with Yumi. She smiled again as the triangle around them disappeared, and with a swift kick to the creepers face, she sent it hurtling over the side.

Yumi turned to Ulrich and smiled, gently kissing him on the cheek. Then, she brought her fist back and punched him in the side of the arm.

Ulrich grasped his arm in shock. "Owwwww! What was that for?"

Yumi placed her hands on her hips. "I could of taken that monster all by myself. I can take care of myself Ulrich."

Ulrich shrugged and continued to rub his arm. "That really hurt Yumes."

Yumi rolled her eyes and smiled. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing Ulrich. You can't _feel _anything on Lyoko."

Their conversation was abruptly ended when a high pitched whimper rang through the room. All eyes turned down to Aelita as she backed along the beam she was on, trying to escape the creeper coming towards her.

Her back hit the wall and she had nowhere to go, and she could only watch as the creeper inches from her face charged up a blast.

But it did not fire at her, because with a slash of light, Ulrich's sword pierced through the creeper, making it explode. Within a millisecond, Ulrich was by Aelita's side. He pulled his sword from the wall (It had gone right through the creeper to get jammed into the wall) and returned it to his sheath. Before Aelita could say anything, he picked the girl up onto his back and supersprinted, jumping from beam to beam until they were on the beam Yumi was on.

Ulrich set Aelita down next to Yumi. Ulrich turned to Candy, who was just finishing up with the last of the creepers.

"What happened to protecting Aelita, Candy?"

Candy brought her arm through the torso of the last creeper, slicing it in half with the blade and making it explode. She turned to them, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry. I'm not really used to the whole fighting Xana monsters thing yet."

They heard a sort of beep, and looked up, seeing Odd who had successfully made it to the top and had hit the key. He was now jumping up and down, waving to them, basking in his success at climbing so high.

A large passageway opened up to the right of them, and they waited as Odd jumped down from beam to beam, going much quicker down than up.

When he got down to them, he grasped Aelita's hand. "You ok princess?"

Aelita smiled and nodded.

Yumi cut into their moment. "Hey, did you guys notice that there were a lot more monsters than usual this time?"

Odd nodded. "Yeah. I had to deal with several creepers up there. That's why I was so slow."

"Yeah. That's why." Ulrich scoffed.

"I'm serious guys." Yumi said. "Something just feels… weird. Like Xana really didn't want us to get through."

Aelita nodded, holding her chin. "The virus that ties me to Xana sometimes allows me to feel things Xana feels. A few minutes ago, one of his emotions broke through my mind. He felt… panicked."

"Well," said Candy. "Let's go see _why _Xana's so panicked."

The group nodded and headed out through the passage.

Aelita however, hung back.

Ulrich popped his head around the corner, followed by his body as he reentered the room.

"Come on Aelita. We can't hack Lyoko without you." He said smiling.

Normally, Aelita would have laughed at that, but she didn't. "Hey Ulrich, can I ask you something?"

Ulrich cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, sure. What's up?"

Aelita spun a strand of pink hair around her finger, nervous. "You've been acting kind of weird around me all day. Why?"

Ulrich bit his lip, and looked at the ground. "Oh."

Aelita watched him, trying to be patient. He looked up at her.

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing. I mean, with Yumi being my girlfriend and you being her best friend… and I know that it's wrong…"

Aelita's eyes widened as her fears were confirmed. Ulrich had a crush on her.

Ulrich took a breath. "I guess what I'm trying to ask you is, what do you think I should get Yumi for her birthday?"

Aelita's jaw dropped. That was _not_ what she expected him to say.

Ulrich continued. "I mean, her birthday is coming up and I was thinking about getting her a necklace with her birthstone on it, but I don't know what the December birthstone is, and"

Ulrich however, was cut off when Aelita fell to the ground, laughing.

"Yeah I know. It's kind of lame that I don't know what to get her, but you don't have to laugh…"

Aelita, now recovered from her laughing fit, stood up and grasped his shoulder. "No Ulrich. That's not it. I thought you were gonna…"

She stopped when Odd popped his head into the room. "Yo Aelita! There's a digital interface out here waiting for your hands! Whoa. That sounded really dirty…"

Aelita rolled her eyes. "Odd, how much caffeine have you had today?"

Odd fluttered his eyes innocently. "Only one glass of pepsi, darling."

Aelita looked at him sternly. He averted his eyes. "Or two. Maybe three…"

Aelita and Ulrich laughed as they followed Odd down the hallway. Aelita took a step closer to Ulrich and stood on her tip toes and whispered so only he could hear. "And just so you know, the birthstone for December is a topaz. Get her a necklace with one on it. She'll love it."

With that, Aelita sprinted ahead to catch up with Odd.

…

There was a sort of anticipating aura floating among them as Aelita brought her hand up to the screen. She could even sense it among Jeremie and Vanessa back on earth. And when she began to search, she couldn't help but feel the same kind of feeling bubbling up inside of her.

Even when Jeremie told them that the mantis eggs would hatch in a few minutes, the hopeful mood didn't die.

And when Aelita let out a little gasp, their hearts all jumped at once.

"What is it Aelita?" Jeremie asked.

Aelita stared at the information in shock. "Jer, Jer, Jeremie."

"Aelita, what is it?" Odd asked, hand on her shoulder, careful not to disrupt her work.

Aelita gulped. "It's a letter from my father."

Silence fell among them as Aelita stared at the closed digital letter.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, Vanessa snatched the mic from Jeremie. "Well don't just stand there! OPEN IT!"

Slowly, Aelita tapped the digital letter opening it. She read a little bit of it, before letting out a breathy gasp. Her knees buckled, and Odd caught her just before she hit the ground.

"Aelita, what does it say?" Yumi asked.

Aelita was already standing, quickly sending Jeremie the contents as fast as she could. She ignored Yumi's question and spoke right to Jeremie. "The part that we need is encoded Jeremie. It will probably take us a while to decode it, it will probably take weeks because it's so complicated, but this is it. We _have _it Jeremie."

"Aelita." Odd said, grasping her shoulders. "What _is _it?"

Aelita looked at him, looked at him in such a deep way that it sent shivers down his spine. If people could cry on Lyoko, she'd be crying rivers of joy.

"The antivirus."

**0_o Whoa! Long chapter! 5,478 words! I'll try to update soon, but if I fail midterms, it's your fault! Let me just clarify that this story is nowhere near the end. I actually was working on the finale the other day, and I can't wait until you guys get to see it. (It's a long ways away though, so don't get too excited.)Haha I broke the fourth wall in this chapter twice. That's just how I role. Sucky writing and fourth wall breaking. :)**

**Next chapter will be up soon!**

**~PSRose~**


	52. Chapter 52: Nerding & A Holiday Surprise

**OMG sorry for the long wait! I had midterms and still have some more, and then microsoftt word wasn't working on my computer, and bla bla bla. And then I found out some new author took my OC's and used them in her/his story without my permission, and I had to deal with that… whatever. I'm waiting for him/her to reply before I totally blast him/her. Here's chapter 52! Yay!**

Jeremie sighed, pushing his glasses up on his forehead to rub the sleep from his eyes, before he let his glasses drop back down, making the world clear again.

The glow from his computer screen illuminated the dark room; he had turned the lights out long ago. It was 11 o'clock, Saturday night, only hours after they had discovered Aelita's encrypted antivirus.

Spinning slowly in his chair, he let his eyes adjust as he gazed at each of his friends.

Now that they had the code for the antivirus, all they needed to do was crack the encrypted data. He had tried his best to teach them how to, but the only person that really understood was Aelita, and Candy kind of understood how to, but Vanessa, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich were just lost. So the four retorted to just guessing; trial and error, which wasn't as effective as the actually process, but was still helpful all the same.

He let his eyes scan each of their sleeping figures. Vanessa was lying on her stomach on his bed; her head resting on the keyboard of her purple laptop. Yumi and Ulrich were sitting in the middle of the floor, back to back, leaning back on each other for support as they slept. Laptops sat in their laps to. Odd was sitting in the beanbag, Aelita in his lap and her laptop in her lap. Aelita's hand rested on the keyboard, and Odd's rested on top of hers.

Jeremie spun back around in his chair and looked at Candy, sitting cross legged on the corner of his desk with her laptop sitting on her folded legs.

The soft glow from her laptop screen shimmered off Candy's green eyes. The black gems in the center of the forests of green flicked up, looking at Jeremie.

"Que?" She asked, softly smiling.

He shrugged and averted his eyes. The weird thing was… he was blushing.

"You find anything yet?"

Candy shook her head, blue strips of hair falling in her face.

Pushing the aqua ribbons of hair from her eyes, she frowned. "Nada. Can you show me how to do the decoding process again? I think I'm doing it wrong."

Jeremie nodded and took the computer from her, setting it down next to his own computer as she slipped down to the floor, sitting on her knees beside him.

"Basically, the program deciphers the code into all the possible outcomes. There are over a billion possible outcomes. There's no quick way to do it except to look at all the possible outcomes and compare them to the structure of what the antivirus should look like. The comparing program takes ten minutes to do, so before you start it you should use the formula I showed you, this one," Jeremie wrote the formula on a sticky note "to break down the first thirty digits and see if they are equivalent to that of the antivirus's structure… and you probably didn't follow any of that, did you?"

Candy nodded her head, surprising Jeremie. "I understand what you're saying. And after you compare them you can rule it out if it's not a match or go ahead with the comparing program if they do match. I don't know why, but it's just not working on my computer."

Jeremie frowned, examining her computer. "Your data processor is fine. You might just work at a quicker pace."

Jeremie pulled up another possible outcome on Candy's laptop screen. "Here. Use the formula and break down the first thirty-"

"Done." Candy said. "They don't match. You can toss that one."

Jeremie looked at her, stricken. "How'd you solve it that fast? You solved it faster than Aelita could of."

Candy twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "I don't know. I just saw the answer to the equation in my head. I can do that sometimes. Other times, it will take me a minute or two. Even if it's simple addition."

Jeremie scratched his head. "Huh. Well, the super computer can run the program really quickly. Want to sneak down so you can try it on there?"

Candy stood. "Sure."

…

The elevator doors opened and the two teens slipped into the computer room. Dropping their winter wear onto the ground, they made their way over to the computer.

Jeremie gestured to the computer chair, and Candy sat down as Jeremie sat on the arm rest.

What started as a simple lecture on the decoding program turned into a complete lesson on the super computer. Jeremie soon discovered that Candy's father was a forensic scientist, and that she learned how to work the equipment on her own. To his surprise, she learned quickly and was working the super computer at a pace somewhere between Yumi's and Aelita's. She liked to learn, but only if she was taught the correct way.

Jeremie then brought up all of their ID cards, pointing out how he tracked their life points, re-loaded their weapons, and such. He clicked on Odd's ID card, using it as an example.

"And by clicking this, you can see Odd's DNA coding. You can even see the different bits that make up his personality. This one makes him artistic, this one makes him a quick responder, this one makes him a good climber, this one makes him easy going, and this one makes him lazy."

Candy let out a soft laugh as she curled deeper into the chair, eyes drooping from sleepiness.

"The computer analyzes your DNA, and then from that takes personal preferences to create your avatar. See right here? You can even see disorders and bad genes. Like, this gene here is the ADD gene."

"Odd has ADD?" Candy said softly, her eyes closed now. "That explains a lot. How about my DNA?"

Jeremie brought up Candy's ID card and then further brought up her DNA visual. "These genes are what make you look like what you are now. You have your mothers red hair and green eyes, but you have your fathers tan skin and tall body structure."

Jeremie then became nervous as he came to the section of DNA that had worried him before. He had made a promise to himself to not snoop through his friends 'bad genes' section. The only reason he looked through Odd's 'bad gene section' was because Odd had already openly told them about his ADD, and wasn't bothered by it.

Yes, by looking at the overall structure of the DNA he could get a sort of idea of what problems they had. He could tell that Yumi had some sort of anxiety problems by the shape of one of her genes, and he could tell that Ulrich had some sort of very minor nervous system problems by the shape of one of his genes.

But that was small stuff. It wasn't anything to be concerned about.

But when he first saw Candy's DNA structure, he knew something was wrong.

Actually, several things were wrong. She had several genes that sent up red flags. And as curious as he was to see what was wrong, he didn't look. He made a vow to Yumi to allow Candy her medical privacy. He was certain that Candy was aware of these medical problems, eliminating the excuse of peeking at the genes for her own safety. If he wanted to know what was wrong with her, he would have to wait until she told him.

Jeremie turned to Candy, about to ask if she wanted to see the digital pixilation structure of Lyoko, when he stopped mid breath, seeing that she was asleep.

Jeremie let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes, realizing how tired he was. Resting his head on the top of the chair, he almost instantly fell asleep.

…

Light poured in through the blinds, hitting the pink haired girls eye lids. She frowned as she reached above her, in search of her pillow with intentions of using it as a shield from the blinding rays, when her hand hit something that defiantly was _not _a pillow. It let out a soft grunt and shifted.

It was then she realized that she was still in Jeremie's room. Turning her head, she realized that she was still in Odd's lap, his arms securely wrapped around, and that she had hit his head.

His eyes opened, filled first with annoyance at being awoken, then with confusion as he took in his surroundings, then with realization as he recalled the night before, and then with love as his eyes met with Aelita's.

"Hey, princess. Did ya sleep well?"

Aelita smiled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I dreamt about decoding the antivirus and finally being free from Xana."

Odd smiled. "That's what I dreamt about to."

They smiled at each other for a moment longer before turning their heads at the sound of shifting.

Yumi had woken up and moved, and since Ulrich had been leaning on her back, he fell back and hit the floor.

"Owwwwww…" He whined, sitting up.

Ignoring Ulrich, Yumi ran a hand through her mangled hair. "Wow. We fell asleep looking for the antivirus last night. Good thing we told my parents I was spending the night with you, V."

Their eyes shifted to Vanessa, who was still passed out on Jeremie's bed.

"Vanessa?"

"You'll need a tornado to wake her up; earthquakes don't work; she slept through plenty of those back in California." Odd said, chuckling.

Ulrich frowned. "You don't have much room to talk Odd. I have to knock you off the top bunk in the morning to wake you up, and even after hitting the ground you're still snoring."

Odd smiled. "Well, you know what they say about hereditary heavy sleepers."

The three looked at him blankly.

"What do they say?" Aelita finally asked.

Odd shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not the smart one in our group. Jeremie's got that covered."

Yumi looked around. "Speaking of Jeremie, where is he?"

Ulrich glanced around. "And where's Candy?"

As the three talked, Aelita had made her way over to Jeremie's computer where an obvious pink sticky note was stuck to the screen.

Plucking it from the screen, Aelita brought the sticky note up to her eyes.

She smiled.

_Hey Lita. I'm assuming the other four, oh wait, Vanessa's probably still sleeping. I assume the other __**three**__ are wondering where Candy and I are, and you're the only one smart enough to look for a note. We're fine, we just went down to the factory so I could show Candy the decoding program on a faster computer. We're pulling an all nighter, so don't be surprised if we don't show up until noon._

_-Jeremie_

Aelita finished the note. She tucked it in her pocket, a knowing smile playing out on her lips.

…

December flowed rather quickly. Xana attacked more often than usual now that the Lyoko warriors had the cryptic antivirus in their hands.

A cryptic antivirus, that was still unsolved.

Jeremie predicted that decoding the antivirus would take longer than he expected, and that they wouldn't get it done before Christmas break, but if they were lucky, it could be decoded by the start of January.

Yumi's birthday rolled around, and the gang had all gone out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Jeremie had made her a ring with a digital clock in it. Odd, with some help from Sam, had gotten her a box of Swedish ribbon candy, and Vanessa had gotten her a pair of designer boots. Aelita had made her a CD with all Yumi's favorite songs, which Aelita had remixed using her DJing skills. Candy had gotten Yumi a special pair of gymnastic slippers, handmade in Candy's hometown back in Mexico. Last but not least, Ulrich had gotten her a silver necklace with a topaz dangling from center. Aelita had flashed Ulrich a knowing smile when Yumi wasn't looking, and Ulrich had responded with a thumbs up.

Christmas break was coming up, and the gang had been busy shopping for gifts for one another. They had planned to exchange gifts the day before break, but that didn't stop Vanessa and Odd from telling Aelita what hers was a little early.

…

Aelita bit her lip as she tapped the pencil against her chin. She shifted in her desk chair, and smiled when the answer hit her, scratching down "43" as the answer to number five on her math homework.

She heard a 'click' behind her before the door swung open.

"Yo yo yo!" Vanessa said, marching into the room and flopping on Aelita's bed.

"What up, princess?" Odd said, sitting down next to his older sister.

Aelita smiled, spinning around in the desk chair to face them. "Math homework. You know, the assignment I assume you haven't done yet, Odd."

Odd smiled. "Vanessa made me do all my homework right away so we could talk to you about something."

Aelita looked at Vanessa. "How'd you get him to do his homework?"

Vanessa smiled. "With persistence, patience, and a promise of my dessert for the next three days of school."

Odd looked at her, frowning. "Wait, you said five days."

Vanessa smiled. "I tricked you. There's only three more days of school before break, idiot."

Odd growled at her, and Vanessa growled back, before laughing and punching him in the arm, bringing a half smile to her brothers face.

Aelita giggled at the siblings. "Alright. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Now wait a minute, shouldn't we make Aelita finish her homework like I had to before we tell her?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Let's be honest here, Aelita could do her homework in her sleep. Aelita could do _my_ homework in her sleep."

Odd shrugged. "Fair enough."

"So what is it?" Aelita whined, now becoming impatient with anticipation. She had moved from her desk chair, now sitting on her bed, with the three of them forming a close circle.

Odd and Vanessa glanced at each other, sly smiles playing on their lips.

Odd faced her. "I want to give you one of your Christmas presents early." Odd slung an arm over Vanessa's shoulder. "Actually, _we _want to give you one of your Christmas presents early."

Aelita smiled. "Ok. What is it?"

Vanessa took the younger girls hand. "And if you don't want it, we totally understand."

Aelita's smile grew a bit. "Ok! Just tell me what it is!"

Vanessa and Odd glanced at each other, knowing smiles lighting up their faces.

They came to a silent agreement, and the two turned to her, Odd having been the one chosen to tell her.

"How would you like to celebrate Christmas at our cabin in Maine with us and the rest of our family?"

Aelita's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. "Are you surious?"

The two nodded.

"And your family? They're cool with this?"

Vanessa nodded. "They said they'd love to have you."

Aelita began to stutter, worries beginning to flood her mind. "But what about Xana? What if he attacks and I'm not here to deactivate a tower?"

Vanessa held out her hand. "It's all under control. As you know, our dad works with the military. So if Xana attacks, we'll use his ID to steal a military jet and get back here quickly. We'll just have to do a return to the past so our dad isn't, you know, fired for letting three kids steal a military jet. I don't think they'd let it slide, twice." Vanessa laughed, as if what she had said was the most normal thing in the world.

But none the less, Aelita couldn't think of any more serious problems. Any other ones were wiped away when Odd's eyes met hers.

"So what do you say princess?" Odd asked, feeling he already knew the answer.

Tears of joy collected at the corners of Aelita's eyes.

"Yes!"


	53. Chapter 53: Mile High

**Super bowl tomorrow! Go Patriots! Lol, I'll probably be flipping between the Super Bowl and the Puppy Bowl. I don't own Code Lyoko, or rip stick, or apple, or any other (big) name brands mentioned in this chapter or any other of the chapters for that matter.**

Ulrich stacked the presents he had wrapped one on top of another, in an attempt to make carrying them all down to Aelita's room a little easier.

He stole a glance at Odd, who was struggling to hold all the presents he had gotten for their friends.

Ulrich smirked. "That's some great wrapping, Odd."

Odd smiled at his presents, which were covered in more tape than wrapping paper.

"Thanks Ulrich. It's nice to know someone appreciates my wrapping abilities."

Ulrich rolled his eyes and gathered his presents. "Ready?"

Odd nodded, and the two boys made their way down the hall, to the stairs, (where Odd almost dropped all his presents) and down the girls hallway to Aelita's door. Jeremie's suitcases were by her door, seeing as he would have to leave right after their party and so he wouldn't have to go back upstairs to get them.

Not having any free hands, Ulrich knocked by kicking the door several times.

Aelita opened the door, frowning. "My doors not a soccer ball, Ulrich."

"Well it's about to become a present dump site if you don't HELP US NOW."

Aelita laughed and took a few presents, welcoming them into her room where the others were already gathered. Everyone was wearing their pajamas to be Christmas-y.

"Took you guys long enough." Yumi said. "Did you forget that some of us have to leave in a couple hours?"

Odd and Ulrich made their way to the center of the room, putting their presents down in the present pile in the middle.

Odd frowned as he set his presents down. "Wait, who's leaving early?"

Jeremie and Candy both raised their hands.

"My dad's picking me up in a couple hours." Jeremie said.

"And I'm catching a train home around midnight to Spain, before my parents and I fly to Mexico to celebrate with the rest of our family."

Odd nodded before glancing at Ulrich and Yumi. "When are you guys leaving?"

"Tomorrow night I'm leaving for Japan with my parents and Hiroki." Yumi said.

"And I'm leaving around the same time for Germany." Ulrich muttered, not exactly thrilled to see his father.

"What about you three?" Yumi said, gesturing to Vanessa, Odd, and Aelita. "When are you heading out to the states?"

Vanessa answered. "Plane leaves at four pm, but we're catching a cab to the airport at one."

With the departure times out of the way, the gang got down to business.

Present exchanges.

Odd, Vanessa and Aelita decided not to exchange presents between the three of them until Christmas, seeing as they'd be spending it together. Yumi also decided not to open any of her presents in front of her friends, it being a Japanese tradition.

They decided to open their presents in a circle, starting with Jeremie.

Jeremie received a snow globe with a calculator in it from Ulrich, a pair of extremely expensive sneakers with special wifi connectivity from Vanessa, and a holographic picture that showed the eight of them smiling back when you held it one way, and the seven of them in their Lyoko forms (Plus Jeremie at his computer flashing a piece sign) when you turned it the other way from Aelita. Yumi had gotten him a small robotic gecko from Tokyo that he could program with artificial intelligence. Odd had gotten Jeremie a book full of drawings, sketches and comics of their Lyoko adventures, and a reoccurring drawing of what Jeremie looks like on Lyoko. Candy got Jeremie a huge book full of Sudoku, math equations, word problems, and critical thinking questions… all of which were in Spanish. Candy challenged him to see how quickly he could finish the book, and he accepted the challenge.

Next was Candy. Vanessa and Odd had both donated a large amount of money to Candy's dance team in Spain for better costumes and so they could compete in more competitions. Aelita, after hearing numerous complaints from Candy about her feet hurting from dancing so much, got Candy a bottle of special Peruvian foot therapy lotion she had overheard Sissi talking about. Yumi had gotten her a very small laser hair remover that she had won at an auction but never used. Gymnasts often used them to permanently get rid of hair in certain 'places' so it wouldn't show when wearing a leotard at competition. Jeremie had gotten her a CD with a special program on it that allowed her computer to work faster with more complex hardware and programs. Ulrich had gotten her a black base ball cap that said "_OMG_" in glittery letters, and under it "_(Oh My Ginger)_".

Then it was Aelita's turn. Jeremie had gotten her several pairs of earrings that actually had small walky-talkys in them. Yumi had gotten her a stuffed animal penguin that was mixing on a miny DJ mixing board. Ulrich got her a pink soccer jersey that said "Princess" across the back. Candy got her a pack of ten _Luz Del Sol _nail polishes in the new spring colors.

Next was Odd. Yumi and Ulrich put their money together and came up with enough to buy Odd a purple rip stick. Jeremie had gotten him some new music video making software that was much better than Odd's old one. Candy got him a purple T-shirt that said "_I'm not clumsy. It's just the floor hates me, the tables and chairs are bullies, and the walls get in the way._"

Then Vanessa went. Yumi got her a black tank top that said "_The only humans that can fly are cheerleaders." _and a pair of black short gym shorts that said "_Cheer_" across the back. Candy got her a silver bikini and board shorts that were made by a designer from Costa Rica that Vanessa envied and stalked on twitter. Ulrich got her new soccer shin guards after hearing her desire for a new pair since the co-ed soccer summer team was holding tryouts soon. He also got her a soccer shirt that said "_I'm a Della Robia -So you better watch out!". _Jeremie had gotten her a program that hooked up to her webcam. The webcam records you doing a gymnastic move, and the program can analyze the move and tell you if you're doing something wrong and what you can do to make it look better.

Finally it was Ulrich's turn. Aelita had gotten him an almost identical katana to the one he had on Lyoko, but this one didn't have a solid blade, it was just a curved beam of light, so it looked a little like a light saber. Jeremie had gotten Ulrich a pair of training soccer cleats, which had digital analyzers and receptors on the outside that could sense when you kicked the ball, and detect where contact was made, and then analyze that to tell you how to kick better. Odd, being Ulrich's best friend had gotten him a David Beckham _signed _jersey that he had been trying to get for months for Ulrich through Sam. Candy got him a new video game that was almost impossible to get, and Vanessa got him a large soccer ball bean bag chair. When Ulrich got to Yumi's present, he decided not to open it until later, deciding to honor her traditions. The others accused him of just trying to make them all look bad. (Seeing as they opened their presents from Yumi in front of her.)

They messed around for a while, having as much Christmas fun as they possibly could in their last few hours together. They took turns mixing on Aelita's portable, (and cheap quality, seeing as Aelita couldn't really afford a professional one) mixing board. They were all terrible at it, except of course Aelita, and Odd who was the one that got her interested in DJing in the first place, but never the less, it was hysterical to see everyone try. They had moved Aelita's furniture against the wall sometime during their party, and had begun to play a game of soccer, which was very difficult to do seeing as there were eight of them in the smallish room. This of course led to Vanessa and Ulrich showing off, and trying to top each other with scissor kicks, step-over-spins, shaving creams, and rainbows. A mix of Christmas music and LMFAO blared from Aelita's radio, and Sissi had come in more than once, screaming her lungs out to turn the music down. Upon her unwanted presence, everyone started wadding up the scattered, torn wrapping paper that littered the room, and chucked their wads at her. Sissi, being Sissi, started throwing wads of wrapping paper back at them, and that led to a ten minute wrapping-paper-war.

After Sissi left, they turned down the hysteria, and just _talked._

Sharing their feelings about Xana, how he had affected their lives, for better and for worse.

Around nine, Jeremieis phone rang.

Jeremie fumbled with his phone for a moment, bringing it up to his ear.

"Hello?...Hey dad."

"HI MR BELPOIS!" Odd yelled from across the room. Everyone followed, yelling hello's.

Jeremie waited for the chorus to die down, before bringing the phone to his ear again, only for him to bring it back down. "Dad says hi."

He brought his phone to his ear, listening. "…Uh huh…yup…ok…ya I'll get ready…ok see you then."

Jeremie dropped his phone into his pocket. "My dad's going to be here in five minutes. I have to go."

Odd stood. "We'll escort you to your car, Mr Belpois." Odd said, in a professional voice. He bowed and made a swooping motion with his arm.

Aelita, playing along, also stood. "Thank you for choosing Aelita's room, we hope you enjoyed your stay." She said, also using a professional voice.

Odd gestured to Ulrich, and still using his professional voice, said "My bellhop, Ulrich, will carry all you bags for you."

Ulrich frowned. "I'm not your lackey Odd."

Odd stuck out his tongue, and opened the door. After putting on their winter gear, they all helped Jeremie carry something and headed out into the snow.

They stopped by the curb, where Mr. Belpois's car was waiting.

The teens waved hello to Mr. Belpois, and began their good byes.

"Good bye Jeremie. Merry Christmas." Vanessa said, hugging him.

"Merry Christmas, V."Jeremie said, deciding to use her nickname as he hugged her.

Vanessa moved aside as Yumi stepped up.

"See you next year Jer." Yumi said, happily hugging him. "And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Yumi." Jeremie said, hugging the girl that had played the role of his older sister. Yumi stepped back to let Ulrich come forward.

"Later Jer. Happy holidays."

"You to Ulrich. Have fun in Germany."

"I'll try." Ulrich laughed, quickly sharing a half hug with Jeremie.

Odd, realizing it was his turn, and being more spontaneous than Ulrich, rushed up to Jeremie and gave him an enormous Oh-My-God-Your-Crushing-me hug.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS JEREMIE! HAVE THE BESTEST NEW YEAR!"

Jeremie smiled. "Bye Odd. Happy holidays to you, too."

Aelita pulled Odd off Jeremie to hug the blond genious.

When they embraced, the world seemed to freeze for a moment.

Everything that had happened between them, everything that had threatened their friendship in the past was washed away in that moment. The awkward silences, angry glares, and sad glances that had passed between them in the past didn't matter now.

Because during the time they were in love, and during the time they hated each other, both could feel something tugging at them, telling them that it wasn't right, that they had a relationship that wasn't love, wasn't hate, but wasn't exactly friendship either.

He was her soul brother.

And she was his soul sister.

A bond that wasn't romantic, but one of true, blossominly beautiful friendship. They now understood why they could sense one another when Jeremie was stuck in limbo between Earth and Lyoko. They were each other's other half. They could feel pain when the other was sad, and joy when the other was happy. Aelita had found happiness with Odd, and Jeremie was slowly finding it with someone as well.

"Merry Christmas Jeremie." Aelita said.

"Merry Christmas Aelita." Jeremie said. And feeling the need to leave her on a lighter note added "Be safe on your vacation with Odd and Vanessa. The Della Robia's are insane."

Aelita laughed and gave him another hug, before stepping back in line with Odd, the two of them interlocking their fingers.

Candy took a step forward. "Adiós Jeremie. Feliz Navidad, y tener un Año Nuevo maravilloso." She said, slipping into her native tongue, and hugging him.

They came apart and he smiled at her. "Feliz Navidad Candy. I hope you have a wonderful New Year, too."

Ulrich and Yumi had loaded his bags into the car for Jeremie, and Jeremie knew it was time to go.

Jeremie opened the door and got in. Everyone called a few more 'good byes' and 'happy holidays' before Jeremie shut the door.

And as the car pulled away from the curb, snow began to softly fall from the night sky.

…

After Jeremie departed, they all headed back to Ulrich and Odd's room instead of Aelita's to hang out for a while. (Sissi was getting very irritated with them, and they felt generous, so they decided to give her some space)

They played video games for a bit, and attempted to throw small things into the basket ball hoop that hung above the window. Eventually, they went back to their video game, which was a racing game, and divided up teams; Ulrich, Vanessa and Yumi against Aelita, Odd, and Candy.

After a while, Yumi stood up from her spot beside Ulrich in the beanbag and stretched. "I gotta get home guys. Curfew and all that junk." She turned to Candy, who was sitting on the couch beside Vanessa. "Since you'll be gone by the time I come back up here tomorrow, I'm not going to see you until after break."

Candy stood, smiling. "Then I guess it's goodbye time." She held her arms out.

Yumi laughed and came forward, hugging the Spanish girl.

"Adios Yumi. Feliz Navidad, y feliz Año Nuevo."

Yumi smiled. "Feliz Navidad Candy. Have a fantastic new years and have fun in Mexico."

Candy nodded. Vanessa, Odd, Aelita, and Ulrich gave her less heartfelt goodbyes to Yumi, knowing they'd see her tomorrow. Yumi left, but Candy remained standing.

"Ging, we gotta finish the game!" Odd said, pointing to the their paused video game. "Ulrich and Vanessa's team are down a player now that Yumi's out; we have to cream them now!"

"And that's the best way to win." Candy said sarcastically. "But you're team's about to be down a player too."

"Aww, you're leaving?" Aelita whined.

"I'm going to bed. I want to get a _little _sleep before I have to catch my train."

The others accepted this, and exchanged their goodbyes with Candy. After they had all shared their hugs with the red head, she left the room.

Now it was just Ulrich, Vanessa, Aelita, and Odd.

"Alright you two, Vanessa said, directing it at Odd and Aelita. "We have to go over our departure junk."

Ulrich stood. "Well, seeing as I don't need to be a part of this conversation, and the fact that I am freak'n exhausted, I'm going to bed." He walked away from the three, moving towards the bunk bed, and since he was already in his pajamas, slipped into bed.

"Ok…" Vanessa said, turning back to the two younger teens. "So, the plane leaves at four o'clock tomorrow evening, but the taxi's picking us up at one o'clock so we can get to the airport early. There is no way we're missing this flight, so make sure you're ready. We can grab lunch at the airport."

"Mmm. Airport food."Odd said, rubbing his stomach. "All you have to do is get rid of the 'airport', and BAM! You've got the best stuff on earth."

Aelita looked at him, questionably. "Wouldn't that just be food?"

Odd smiled. "Exactly."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and continued. "Odd, are your bags packed?"

"Packed and ready to go, chief." He said, saluting Vanessa.

Vanessa turned to Aelita. "And I know yours are packed; Yumi and I helped you pack earlier."

Aelita nodded. "Yeah, mine are packed. I just don't get why we couldn't wait until tomorrow to pack. We have the whole morning to pack."

Vanessa smiled. "Well, first off, when you travel, you should always make sure your stuff is ready the day before you have to leave so you're not racing to pack an hour before your flight. Second, we're going to be traveling for a long time. The plane ride is a six hour flight, and then it will probably take us forty five minutes to get all our luggage and junk together at the Maine airport, and then it's an hour and a half drive to the cabin. When we get there, it will probably be around one o'clock in the morning, _here_. It will actually be seven o'clock at night _there_ because of the time change, but it will seem like one o'clock in the morning to us."

Vanessa took a breath. "Anyways, we're going to be traveling for a long time, so it's important that you get a lot of sleep. Sleep in. Set your alarm clock for eleven o'clock."

"Alright." Aelita said, intrigued with her lesson on traveling.

"And you've both got your travel bags ready? You've got junk in there to do on the plane; cell phone, iPod, a magazine, coloring book?" Vanessa asked, aiming the last item she said at Odd.

"Uh huh."

"Yuppers."

"And you have tomorrows clothes ready? Along with your coat, hat, and gloves?"

"Yes." Aelita said, going through a mental check list.

Odd sighed. "Vanessa, stop freaking out. We have everything ready."

Vanessa smirked. "Oh yeah Odd? Then where's your passport?"

Odd gave an exasperated sigh and stood, walking over to his purple luggage and reaching for his purple carry-on bag. He dug around inside it for a moment, before frowning.

He walked over to his desk, and looked through the drawers.

Now looking a little nervous, he quickly walked over to his closet. He opened the doors, and dug around for a minute.

Now flat out freaked, Odd started to dart around the room, looking under his pillow, in between the couch cushions, under the bean bags, until finally he cried "I can't find it!"

Vanessa smiled. "That's because I have it Odd. I knew you'd lose it if I gave it to you, so I'm hanging onto it. It's in my carry-on bag along with mine and all of our plane tickets."

Odd gasped at her. "You fiend! And here I was, running around thinking I lost my passport, and you just sit back and giggle?" Odd put a hand over his heart, pretending to be scared.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and turned to Aelita. "Do you have the passport Jeremie got you?"

Aelita nodded. "Yeah, it's in my carry-on bag."

Vanessa nodded. "I think that's everything. We should get to bed. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Ok. Hit the lights on the way out, ladies. Good night V. Good night princess." Odd said, walking over to give Aelita a kiss before moving towards the bunk bed, ready for bed himself.

"Good night Odd."

"Set your alarm clock!"

Odd waved off his sisters nagging and fiddled with his digital clock before climbing up onto the top bunk.

"Night Ulrich." The girls both said.

From under the blankets, they heard Ulrich mumble something between 'good night' and 'go away'.

The girls giggled as they left, hitting the light switch and closing the door behind them.

They headed down the hall, down the stairs and stopping at Vanessa's door.

"You sure you've got everything packed?"

Aelita nodded. "Yeah, and I'll double check when I get back to my dorm."

Vanessa nodded and opened the door, the light from the hallway casting through the opening and over Candy's bed, directly hitting the sleeping girls face.

The red head lazily opened her eyes and smiled at Aelita. "Good bye Aelita."

Aelita smiled. "Good bye Candy."

Vanessa wished Aelita good night before slipping into the room and shutting the door.

Aelita continued two doors down to her room, slipping inside.

She looked over her pink and black luggage, and checked her carry-on bag. She looked over tomorrow's clothes to make sure everything was ready. Setting her alarm clock for eleven, (even though she knew she'd probably wake up before that) before turning off the lights and slipping into bed.

…

Aelita smiled and thanked the cab driver as he loaded Vanessa's, Odd's, and her luggage into the trunk. She turned back around and watched her friends.

They were all exchanging goodbyes.

"See you man." Ulrich said as he and Odd did their secret handshake.

"Later Ulrich." Odd said smiling, as he and Ulrich finished their 'special' handshake. They shared one of their rare hugs, which somehow turned into a wrestling match.

Vanessa yanked Odd off of Ulrich and stood on her tip toes to hug the taller boy.

"Merry Christmas Ulrich."

"Merry Christmas Blondie."

They pulled apart, smiling, and exchanged their 'soccer buddy' (as Odd called it) handshake.

Vanessa pulled away and Ulrich faced Aelita.

"Have you made a secret handshake with everyone but me?" Aelita said, swatting him good naturedly.

Ulrich laughed and hugged her, lifting her off the ground.

"See ya, 'lita. Merry Christmas."

"Yeah, you too Ulrich. Now, can you please let me go? You're crushing me. Can't, breathe!"

Ulrich laughed and set her down, ruffling her hair.

Yumi hugged Vanessa, and then Odd, and then Aelita.

She pulled back to look at Aelita, her hands now on her hips as she faced her and the two Della Robia's. "When you three get back, Aelita better not have purple hair."

They all laughed at that.

"I'm serious. Vanessa, make sure Odd doesn't make Aelita do anything stupid, like playing tag with a polar bear."

"Do they even have polar bears in Maine?" Aelita asked.

"Well, they have Della Robia's there, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did." Ulrich said, smile lighting his face.

Vanessa put a hand on Yumi's shoulder. "Don't worry about Aelita. I'll keep an eye on her."

Yumi nodded and hugged the three one last time.

Odd looked at his phone, checking the time.

"Alright. We should head out now. I'm getting hungry."

"What else is new?" Ulrich said, smirking.

Before the boys could get in another wrestling match and delay them any further, Vanessa pushed Odd towards the cab.

"Bye Yumi! Bye Ulrich!" Vanessa said, pushing Odd with one hand and tugging Aelita along with the other.

Aelita looked over her shoulder and waved at Ulrich and Yumi. Vanessa pushed Odd into the cab first, then Aelita climbed in next to him, and finally Vanessa climbed in, the cab driver shutting the door for her before walking around and climbing in behind the wheel.

Vanessa rolled down her window, and Odd leaned over Aelita and Vanessa, motioning Aelita to do the same. The three waved at Ulrich and Yumi, calling out their final goodbyes as the cab pulled away from Kadic in the direction of the airport.


	54. Chapter 54: Plane

**OH MY GAWD! MA COMPUTER HAD A VIRUS! :0 And because my dad is indolent, (Uh huh, I'm using vocab words) I couldn't really access the internet without my computer bugging out. It's ok though. I gave my computer some chicken noodle soup and an ice pack and it was all better. :)**

_**Odd: Quit the blabbering!**_

**OH MA GAWD! Where'd you come from?**

_**Odd: Well, when two people love each other very much…**_

**GAHHHH! THIS IS A T-RATED FIC YOU IDIOT!**

_**Odd: Hey! You just broke the fourth wall and you specifically told us not to do that!**_

**Well, this intro, rant, disclaimer thing doesn't count! Speaking of which… I** **don't own Mario Smash bros, or Nintendo, and Man on a Ridge is a total parody of Man on a Ledge, which I don't own or have any associations with, nor does Grandpa D!**

_**Odd: Wow, way to spoil the chapter.**_

**Shut uuuuupp!**

_Pow. Pow pow. Pow pow pow pow! Ding ding ding! New High Score! New High Score!_

"Ha! I beat your high score again Odd!" Aelita cried triumphantly, holding Odd's DS high in the air.

Odd snatched the game back and looked at the screen in shock. "I just don't understand. I'm a master at Super Mario Smash Bros. You must be hacking it or something!"

Aelita swatted him lightly and held her hand to her heart in mock horror. "Moi? Have you no faith in your own girlfriend Odd?"

"No, I do. But I also have faith in your hacking skills which is why I think YOUR CHEATING!"

Aelita giggled softly. They were currently soaring above the clouds in the plane, and sitting in first class no less.

Call it brotherly instinct, but Odd looked up when he felt Vanessa's presence, the girl coming back from the small lavatory at the back of the plane.

Odd held up the DS to his sister. "V, it's your turn with Mario smash bros." He tossed her the game as she sat down in her seat beside him, the girl easily catching it. "And no hacking!"

Vanessa rolled her eyes but began to play. Odd watched her for a moment, before turning back to Aelita, frowning when he saw her nervously biting her nails.

"What's wrong princess?"

Aelita's eyes flicked up at him. "Nothing." She paused for a moment, before continuing. "I'm just a little nervous is all. I've only met your family once, back when Yumi and Vanessa were in the hospital. And they were only there for a day. What if they don't like me?"

Odd waved the thought away. "Aelita, you have nothing to worry about. They'll love you."

Aelita nervously twirled her pink hair around her finger, a small smile on her lips, but never the less, she was still concerned. "Fine. But, can you at least tell me what your Christmas's are like? The suspense is killing me."

Odd smiled. "Of course."

He put an arm around her, getting comfortable as Aelita curled up with her head on his shoulder.

"Well, our family has been going to our cabin for Christmas since I was a baby. Everyone helped build it. My mom even helped when she was pregnant with me by painting the walls with some of my cousins."

Vanessa looked up from the game. "Mom probably inhaled a lot of paint fumes, which is why Odd's so messed up."

Odd rolled his eyes and continued. "But yeah, everyone helped make it. All of our older cousins who were like, five back then even helped, along with Travis and Mark, our boss older brothers. And every Christmas, our WHOLE family comes together in that house to celebrate Christmas, and wreak havoc in Maine. And as you can imagine, our entire family is huge. So the cabin is more like a lodge style hotel."

Vanessa cut in. "Let me explain to you something about our family. See, our family is really proud of their heritage, so that resulted in a bunch of joint last names."

Odd nodded his head. "Let's start with our dads side. We have Grandpa Della and Grandma Della. They go by Grandma D and Grandpa D, but we'll sometimes call Grandma D, Grand Master D because she's the most frag'n awesome grandma in the world."

"What did she do that makes her so awesome?" Aelita asked.

Vanessa smiled. "A better question would be 'what hasn't she done.' Grandma D was voted best DJ of New Jersey, she's snowboarded down some of the tallest slopes in the world, she's sky dived, and that's only the stuff she's done in the past year!"

"Whoa!" Aelita exclaimed.

Odd nodded. "And Grandpa D's pretty cool to. You know that movie _Man on a Ridge_? He co-directed it. He's also done some other movies. But anyways, they had two kids, our dad John and our Uncle Paul. Uncle Paul's the first born, a professional photographer and husband to Aunt Sheryl, a fashion designer from London. Uncle Paul and Aunt Sheryl have a joint last name of Della Devoi, because Sheryl's maiden name is Devoi. They have five kids, Paula, Samson, Tanner, Asher, and Tommy. Paula's sixteen, Samson's seventeen, Tanner's ten, Asher's eight, and Tommy's seven."

Vanessa began to speak. "And then we have our mom's side. It starts with Grandpa Robia and Grandma Robia. We just call them by their first names though, Barry and Liz. Barry and Liz are collectors. They're business partners and they buy a bunch of vintage stuff at auctions and sell them in their shops. Their complete opposites though; you'll see what I mean when you meet them."

"They're both hysterical." Odd said. "So, they had two kids, the first was our Aunt Kathryn and then our mom, Stella. Kathryn goes by Kat, but all the kids just call her Aunt Kathryn. She married Dug Quada, who we call Uncle Q-Dog."

"So it's basically like, cat and dog." Aelita said, smiling.

Odd nodded. "Yup. So, their last name is Quada Kathryn is an artist like our mom, a hippie, and was originally in a country band with our Uncle Q-Dog… that's how they fell in love."

"Awwww." Aelita cooed, smiling.

Vanessa laughed. "Yeah. So, they have five kids. Logan, whose twenty two…oh and his fiancée Michelle will be coming to, then Maddie whose sixteen, and then Caitlyn whose thirteen, and the six year old twins Macy and Lola."

"Usually, more relatives come too, like our grandparents siblings and their families but they headed to the tropics this year instead." Odd said, frowning. "The cabin's going to be so empty this year…"

Aelita laughed. "The cabin must be pretty big then."

"Yeah, it is." Vanessa said, laughing. "Odd, tell her about some of the stuff we do."

Odd tapped his chin. "Well, we always have a race with all the snowmobiles, and there's a huge pond we go ice skating on and play ice hockey on, and we'll go sledding down the mountain, and skiing and snowboarding, and then we have a huge hot tub out on one of the decks, oh, and there's a really cool hot spring a little higher up the mountain that we'll drive up to and swim in."

Vanessa curled her legs up to her chest, smiling as memories began to wash over her. "And we have a big arcade that all we kids will spend hours in playing games while the adults play pool."

Odd's smile grew. "And the family room in enormous; we have a huge fire place and a bunch of couches and comfy chairs, and there's a little balcony stage with a spiral stair case leading up to it where our family members will play music from, oh and the Christmas tree! It stands next to the grand piano, against the wall of huge windows looking out at the sky and down the mountain…"

Vanessa cut in, now getting extremely excited at the thoughts of Christmas. "And we have this tradition. On Christmas Eve, we all hang in the living room, and we take turns playing the piano, and singing together. And we usually will all do this thing, where Grandma Liz and Sheryl will play the piano together, and we start improvising singing, and I swear it's like magic."

She continued her rant. " And then later, the adults will make the kids go to bed. And, so, we all have rooms separate to ourselves, but we have this one big room with a gas fire place and a movie screen and a closet stacked with these mattress things. And, on Christmas Eve, all the kids sleep there on the mattresses and sleeping bags, and we watch movies until we fall asleep. And then, when the sun peeks through the windows and wakes us all up…"

Odd cut in, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. "We run out the door and into the hallway that looks out over the living room from a floor above it, and we see the Christmas tree with all the presents under it," Odd stood up on his seat "THUS BEGGINGING CHRISTMAS DAY!" Odd cried.

Several other people from first class looked at Odd strangely, a group of friendly old ladies lightly chuckling and clapping. Odd plopped back down in his seat, a broad smile on his face.

"Ah, you'll love it Aelita!"

Vanessa nodded. "You really will. Oh, and a day or two before Christmas, the women will take the kids out to the mall so we can all buy last minute presents for each other. It's the craziest thing you will ever experience."

Aelita smiled. "I'm so excited! I'm as hyper as Odd gets on coffee!"

Vanessa laughed. "Well, seeing as you haven't run into any walls yet, I highly doubt that."

"Hey..." Odd whined.

Aelita laughed, taking the Nintendo DS from Vanessa and starting to play. "When are we going to be there?"

Vanessa frowned, checking her phone for the time. "Our landing is scheduled for four o'clock, Maine time, which is ten o'clock in France. But, I just checked the weather on my phone, and I wouldn't be surprised if the ride takes an hour longer or two."

Odd leaned forward, fiddling with the tray table in front of him until in fell into place. He reached down into his purple bag, digging around for a moment before pulling out a coloring book and box of crayons.

Vanessa shook her head as Odd obliviously began to vigorously color a tiger green.

Vanessa looked over at Aelita, about to say something witty about dating Odd, only to find Aelita to have abandoned the DS, and now coloring fiercely in her own coloring book.

Vanessa held back a laugh.

**There was more to this chapter originally, but it didn't really fit and it kind of sat awkwardly with everything, so yeah, it's short. Also, there's only about ten chapters left in this story! I've been working on the finale and I'm so excited to show you! It contains the big reveal of Candy's illness, a heart pounding decision, and a twist you will never see coming! I'm working on Chasing Fate, which is basically the second part of Destinies Realized, with even more action, romance, and suspense. Later! **


	55. Chapter 55: Maine

**Hey! Look at how quickly I updated!**

**Two months.**

**0_o Uhh…Haha… awkward… But I think I'm going to be able to actually update often now because I've already written these final chapters in a note book. Yay!**

**On with zee story!**

She was beyond tired now. In fact, she was so exhausted, that she must have been experiencing some sort of mental breakdown that was causing her to be _hyper_. Vanessa had been right; the plane had arrived two hours late, and it was nearly six o'clock here in Maine, nearly midnight back in France.

Aelita's eyes scanned the luggage coming around on the conveyer belt, looking for her pink and black suitcases. Odd and Vanessa were doing the same thing, both still wide awake, having taken naps on the plane.

Vanessa easily spotted her sparkly, blue zebra print luggage, and the three teens pulled the suitcases off. One of Odd's purple suitcases came around, followed by the other, and they grabbed those. Finally, Aelita's pink and black luggage appeared, and they pulled those off the conveyer belt.

"Where's Travis gonna meet us?" Odd asked, shifting his purple backpack onto one shoulder.

"In the east wing. It's not too far from here." Vanessa grabbed her luggage, looking at Aelita. "You got everything?"

Aelita nodded, grabbing her luggage. Odd did too, and they followed Vanessa through the sea of people picking up luggage.

They made it to the east wing, sitting down on an unoccupied couch as Vanessa dialed Travis's number on her cell phone. As Vanessa called Travis, Odd took Aelita's hand.

"Are you excited?" He asked.

She nodded. "Very."

He smiled at her then looked up, scanning the area again for his brother.

Odd's face immediately lit up. "Travis!"

Their tall, nineteen year old brother eased his way towards them. He flicked his blonde hair out of his eyes, smiling as he got closer. Vanessa sprang up, having spotted him, running towards him and wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug.

"Travis!" She exclaimed.

"Hey, V! I almost didn't recognize you with your blond hair!" He said, ruffling her hair.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and laughed, leading him towards Odd and Aelita.

Odd stood, fist bumping his brother and then hugging him. "Hey, Travis."

"Hey Odd." He smiled at Aelita. "Hey Aelita. I'm glad you're staying with us. I didn't really get to know you when we met back in France."

Aelita smiled. "Thanks for letting me stay with you. Especially since this is Christmas, and your family probably doesn't need an outsider around."

Travis's eyebrows went up. "Are you kidding? We're Della Robia's! If you're a close friend, then your family! Besides, our parents love you. They think you're a good influence on Odd."

"Travis." Odd muttered a light tinge of red on his cheeks.

Travis smiled, ruffling Odd's hair, only to have Odd smack his hand away with a smile as he attempted to fix his hair.

"Everyone's really excited to meet you. Word got to Grandma D that you DJ. She's really psyched to see what you got."

"Cool." Aelita said, smiling. There was a light air to Travis that made Aelita instantly like him. He talked to her like she was an old friend, a quality that Odd possessed and made her realize how similar the brothers were.

"Well, you guys are probably exhausted from flying, so let's get you home." Travis reached for some of their luggage, pausing momentarily to watch a pretty, older girl walk by. Aelita suppressed a laugh.

Yup. He was defiantly related to Odd.

The three younger teens followed Travis to the wall of glass doors, Aelita's eyebrows shooting up as she took in the sight of the beautiful snow falling down. Travis told them to wait there for him to bring the car around, and he left.

Seven minutes later, a silver Nissan pathfinder pulled up to the curb, and Travis emerged from it, dashing back inside to help them gather their bags.

After loading their luggage into the back, Vanessa went around to the passenger side and climbed in. Travis slid into the driver's seat, shutting the door. Odd and Aelita got in the back, Aelita pausing outside for a moment, head tilted back as she looked up at the sky, the billions of snowflakes gently falling down, hitting her cheeks lightly.

She slid into the car next to Odd and closed the door. Her head naturally fell onto Odd's shoulder, as his arms naturally went around her. Odd caught a glimpse of Travis smirking at him through the rear view mirror.

"You got a good one, Odd." Travis said as he pulled away from the curb.

Aelita smiled. She was beginning to understand how Travis worked. "Hey, technically, _I_ made the first move."

Aelita had to restrain herself from yelping as they lurched to a ruff halt.

Travis snaked around in his seat until he was leaning over the back, inches from Odd's face. "Oh-ho! What's this?"

Vanessa had started to laugh. Odd sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah she made the first move."

"And the lady's man has been put in his place." Travis shook his head, eyes moving to Aelita. He clapped. "Ma'am, it's an honor to be in your presence." He said, bowing to the best of his abilities over the seat.

Aelita laughed, amazed at how similar Travis was to Odd. She didn't have a clue as to why it was such a big deal, but at the moment, she was too tired to care. She'd ask Vanessa later.

Travis had turned back around in his seat, and they began to drive again.

"So how are our sisters?" Vanessa asked.

"Good. Mia lost another baby tooth last week. She was eating an apple and it came right out, wedged into the apple. She didn't realize it though; the poor kid almost ate it."

Odd smiled. "That's my girl."

Travis smiled. "…and Molly nearly broke her neck when she was trying to do a back flip 360."

Vanessa frowned. "But, Molly can do 360's perfectly on the trampoline."

Travis looked at Vanessa for a moment, eyebrow cocked knowingly. Vanessa's hands flew to her mouth.

"She DIDN'T!"

Travis smiled, beginning to laugh lightly.

Vanessa smacked him. "Don't laugh, you idiot!" She shook her head. "I told her not to try doing it off the railing."

Odd and Travis both started laughing, Travis because he had actually seen the thirteen year old girl try it, and Odd because he could _picture_ he trying it.

Odd shook his head. "I'm going to give bru-bru _such_ a load of shit when I see her."

Aelita looked at Vanessa, a questioning look in her gaze.

Vanessa began to explain. "So, we're all kind of into doing flips and junk on our trampoline, not like cheerleading back handsprings and stuff but more messing around kind of stuff. But, Molly really wanted to try doing this one flip off of our porch railing, and I kept telling her not to do it without training with an instructor, but I guess we can all see how that worked out."

Aelita blinked. "Yeah… I get that part; Yumi's taught me a lot about gymnastics… I just didn't get the bru-bru comment."

Vanessa laughed sheepishly. "Oh. Yeah, that's just one of Odd's nicknames for Molly because she's the only brunette in the family."

Aelita nodded, just as Odd and Travis finished their laughing fits.

"What about the twins?" Odd asked. "How are they?"

"Jessie made Alice in their school production of Alice in Wonderland."

Vanessa shrieked lightly. "Oh my gosh! I knew she could do it!"

"Good for her." Odd said. Aelita nodded her agreement.

"And… Laura's good too. She's gotten over her concussion and can play sports again."

"That's good. We wouldn't want her turning into Odd." Vanessa smirked back at her brother.

"…What's that supposed to mean?" Odd whined.

"It means you sit around doing nothing." Aelita said sweetly. He ruffled her hair, the girl half heartedly swatting his hand.

The four continued talking, and Aelita was yet again surprised with how speaking to Travis was like talking to an old friend. She realized that Vanessa and Odd had that affect on her when she first met them, and came to the conclusion that it was a Della Robia thing.

And seeing as she'd be surrounded by Quada Robia's, Della Robia's, and Della Devoi's, she knew this vacation would be fun.

As long as Xana didn't ruin it.

After driving up one of the mountains for what felt like forever, and passing several cabins, they came around a line of pine trees, and Aelita gasped.

The cabin was beautiful.

And huge.

The car pulled into the long driveway, Aelita's eyes glued to the house as it came closer and closer into view.

Travis was about to pull into the garage, but Odd stopped him.

"Wait, let's take Aelita in through the front; give her the whole experience."

Travis smiled, and nodded, stopping the car near the stone path that wound around to the front door.

Aelita didn't even realize that they had stopped until the warmth of Odd's body disappeared from her side; the boy having slipped out of the car.

From outside the car, Odd reached his hand inside, and Aelita grabbed it. He helped her out, Aelita stumbling because her eyes were still glued to the cabin, taking in every detail.

Vanessa grabbed her bags, as did Odd, and Aelita looked away from the cabin for a moment to retrieve hers. Travis told them that he was going to put the car in the garage, and not to wait up for him.

They nodded and walked down the stone path, Aelita in between the two Della Robia's. It looked like the path had recently been shoveled, but the shoveler's efforts were now being covered in a thin layer of snow that was quickly growing. They walked up the stone steps onto the front porch.

Odd reached towards the oak door, his hand closing around the handle and he paused, looking back at the two girls.

Him and Vanessa flashed each other a knowing smile, then they both flashed Aelita one, before Odd turned the knob and pushed, the door swinging open and Aelita's eyes going wide at the view.

"Welcome to el cabino del… la Robia, oh!" Odd said, throwing an arm over Aelita's shoulder.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Odd, _please_ just leave the Spanish to Candy." She muttered as she gently led Aelita into the foyer.

The foyer was magnificent; foreshadowing what the rest of the cabin would look like. A red vintage rug lay over the hard wood floor, leading foreword and up a grand staircase that led up to the second floor where Odd said their rooms were. A small, round, black table sat in front of them with a beautiful vase sitting on it, filled with red and white carnations. A huge chandelier made of antlers and candle-like lights hung from the high ceilings above. Open hallways led around the staircase, along with a wider one that branched off to their left. To their right, a stone, arched wall stood with a long gas fire place inside, and a bench that ran the length of the curved wall. A hallway branched from the stone wall, and at the end of the hallway, a door stood. The door swung open as Travis came in from the garage.

Odd and Vanessa put their luggage down, and told Aelita to do the same, before leading her down the hallway and taking a left, into a huge closet with coats hung up and boots lining the walls. They shed their coats, gloves, scarves, hats and boots, along with Travis who had followed them inside.

They moved back to the foyer, and paused.

"Do you guys want to go say hello to mom and dad? They're watching football in the living room with Aunt Sheryl, Uncle Doug, Grandpa Barry and Grandma Liz. Everyone else is in bed."

It was then Aelita noticed how tired she was. She saw the same look in Odd and Vanessa's eyes.

"Could you just tell them that we said hello?" Odd asked.

"We're kinda exhausted." Vanessa yawned.

Travis smirked. "Yeah, I'll tell them you said hello."

Odd looked at Aelita. "Is that alright with you Aelita?"

Aelita nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, I think I'm about to pass out right her." She looked at Travis. "Travis, could you please tell them I said thank you for having me?"

Travis nodded. "Sure thing, Aelita. Now, get some sleep you guys. It's decorating day tomorrow."

Odd groaned and grabbed his luggage. "Noooo."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and looked at Aelita. "Ignore Odd, it's really fun." She said and grabbed her suitcase.

Odd smiled. "Yeah, it is."

Aelita grabbed her suitcase to. A memory of decorating her old home for Christmas wafted through her mind for a second, much to her astonishment. "Cool. I love decorating for Christmas."

They said their goodnights to Travis, and went up the stairs to the second floor, and continuing up higher to the third. They continued down a hallway.

"So, you're going to get one of the guest bedrooms that actually shares a bathroom between my room and yours." Vanessa said. She stopped at a door.

"This is your room." Odd said. "Vanessa's right next door, and I'm at the end of the hallway." Odd pointed to his room. He grasped her door handle and turned it, pushing it open. He reached around the door frame, flicking on the light switch.

Odd swept his arm in a bowing motion. "Your room, mademoiselle."

Aelita smiled and stepped inside. She set her bags down and turned back to Vanessa and Odd.

"I'll give you a tour tomorrow, and introduce you to everyone." Odd said, as a yawn escaped his mouth.

Aelita nodded, and shyly smiled. "Thanks you guys, so much. I really appreciate you doing this."

Vanessa and Odd smiled. Vanessa put her hand on Aelita's shoulder. "Aelita, it's no problem at all." She drew her hand back.

Odd nodded, gently kissing her forehead, causing a light tinge of pink to spread across her cheeks. "We love you princess." He drew back, an excited smile on his face. "We're going to have lots of fun."

Aelita smiled. "Alright. Good night."

"Good night Aelita." The siblings said as they moved towards their own rooms. Aelita shut her door.

She hit the light switch and didn't even bother to change into pajamas as she moved towards the bed.

She was out the moment her head hit the pillow.


	56. Chapter 56: Home Sweet Home

**MOTHER OF GOAT, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? WHY CANT I UPDATE QUICKLY? OR EVEN AT A NORMAL PACE?**

**Don't be mad! Here's an apology waffle: ( ._.) #**

**Goes to show you how ADD I am. Gawd. Well, overlooking my inability to type, I should be able to update quicker with school out. Also, after seeing an image of Aelita's mother on google images, I noticed that I literally own the same exact purple sneakers she is wearing.**

**(O_o) Oh my Gawd, Aelita, I am your mother.**

**Go on to see the teaser trailer for evolution! It's pretty awesome!**

**Anyyyyways, here we goooo!**

"_Odd, you need to devirtualize Aelita!" _

"_What? She'll die!" _

"_We can't let Xana take her memory! We can't let him escape!"_

"_But,"_

"_Odd!"_

Aelita shot up in bed, breathing hard.

She looked around, slightly confused as to where she was, and then she remembered the night before.

Aelita glanced at the clock on the bed side table. 8:12 AM. She had slept nearly twelve hours. She could faintly hear water running in the bathroom that linked Vanessa and her bedrooms, and assumed Vanessa was showering.

Lazily she rolled out of bed and stood up, looking down at her clothes and realized she was still in yesterdays outfit.

She went to her suitcase and started loading her clothes into the empty dresser, setting aside an outfit she would wear that day. She could hear the water shut off.

Aelita took out everything else she brought, putting Odd and Vanessa's presents on the bed side table, and tossing Mr. Puck onto her pillow.

The girl didn't even realize that it was the first time she had slept without it.

Aelita then grabbed her toiletries bag, cautiously knocking on the bathroom door.

"Yeah, I'm decent."

Aelita pushed the door open and stepped inside the Jack and Jill bathroom. Vanessa had a fluffy white towel wrapped around her small-built body and was brushing her teeth. Her hair dryer, brush, comb and make up littered her side of the double sink counter.

Vanessa spit the white foam into the sink and washed it away down the drain. She flashed Aelita a smile.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?"

Aelita nodded as she dropped her bag on the counter. "Wonderful. I don't think I've ever gotten that much sleep."

Vanessa quirked an eyebrow as she examined her teeth in the mirror. "Says the girl that was asleep in a computer for ten years."

Aelita smiled, but quickly frowned.

Vanessa saw her face fall in the reflection of the mirror, and turned to face Aelita, knowing where her mind was drifting.

"Hey, don't worry about any of that stuff right now. We're on vacation. Try to relax. And if anything goes wrong, we have access to military planes."

Aelita's frown grew. "Yeah, but not legally."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and started to collect her hair dryer and various beauty tools in her arms. "Aelita, you're in a huge cabin stocked with video games, hot tubs and the awesomest family ever, on a beautiful mountain side filled with amazing wild life and winter activities, with your _boyfriend_." Vanessa grasped Aelita's chin. "RE-LAX."

Aelita smiled and nodded after a moment, making Vanessa smile. The older girl pat her head.

"You and Odd could use some alone time." Vanessa wiggled her eyebrow. "If you know what I mean."

Aelita's cheeks heated. "No, we're not… we don't…we haven't…together…"

Vanessa laughed and ruffled Aelita's hair. "I'm just messing with you. I'd prefer not to know about my brother's sex life."

Aelita squeezed her eyes shut as her face reddened at the word. Yes, she and Odd had been dating for half a year, but they weren't active in that way.

Vanessa laughed again and turned towards the door leading to her room.

"I'll let you shower. Just come over when you're all set, and we can go down stairs together. I doubt Odd is up yet so we can pick him up on our way down."

Aelita smiled. "Alright. Thanks V."

Vanessa waved it off as she moved towards the door. She stopped at the mirror, looking at herself.

"Hey, do you think I should chop off all my hair? To keep cool this summer with sports?"

Aelita's mouth twisted in thought. "I think your hairs pretty as it is, but short hair will work fine on you to. Ulrich likes to cut his hair in the summer to."

Vanessa looked at herself in the mirror for another moment before shrugging. "I'll decide later. Go ahead and shower. Oh, and lock both doors. You never know when a wild herd of little cousins will come flying through."

Aelita smiled and nodded as Vanessa shut the door. After locking the doors like Vanessa warned, she turned on the shower, letting it heat up before stripping down and stepping inside.

After showering and drying her hair, she got dressed, pulling on a light pink sweater, white jeans, pink flats, and tying her lightly curled hair into a side pony tail with a ribbon.

She crossed the bathroom into Vanessa's room and watched as Vanessa finished applying her dramatic eye makeup. The older girl was wearing a purple plaid shirt, blue jean, and a beanie. She only wore black socks on her feet.

Vanessa pursed her lips in the mirror, getting a final look at her makeup and smiling. The two girls then walked to the door, Vanessa opening it.

Just as they stepped out, an orange cat shot by, followed by two identical looking little girls, giggling and shrieking. One of them noticed them and stopped. Her hair was dirty blond with thin wisps of purple crisscrossing in her braid. She wore a green dress and white stockings. She smiled at Vanessa.

"Hi Vanessa."

The other girl had stopped running and was slowly coming back, curious. She looked identical to her sister, except she was wearing a red dress.

Vanessa smiled and knelt down to her eye level. "Hi Lola. Look at how much you've grown. How are you?"

Lola smiled. "Good. We're playing tag with Mr. Strudel."

Vanessa glanced down the hallway at the poor cat, which had taken cover behind a potted plant and was glaring at them.

Her eyes returned to the two girls, specifically the other girl. "Hi Macy."

Macy smiled and said hello, her eyes drifting to the pink haired girl beside Vanessa.

Vanessa stood. "Macy, Lola, this is my friend Aelita. She's spending Christmas with us. Aelita, these are my cousins Macy" She pointed at the twin in red "and Lola." She pointed at the one in green.

Aelita smiled. "Hi."

One of the two girls, Macy, looked at her hair in awe. "Your hair is really pretty."

Aelita smiled. "Thank you."

The other girl, Lola, spoke up. "Yeah, you look like Merliah from Barbie in a Mermaid Tale."

Aelita quirked an eye brow slightly. "Um… thank you?"

Lola smiled at her and pointed at the cat. "Do you want to play tag with Mr. Strudel and us?"

"We're on our way down stairs but I bet Aelita would love to play with you guys later." Vanessa answered for her.

The younger girls nodded and dashed off towards the cat, which proceeded to hiss and dart off down the hall. They ran by Odds door just as it opened and the blond teen emerged, and the kids shouted hellos as they ran past.

"Run Strudel! Run!" Odd shouted which only made the kids laugh as they disappeared around the corner. Odd was wearing a long sleeve black shirt, purple pants and a pair of black and white Nike sneakers. He smiled at the two girls. "Hello."

Aelita smiled and moved towards his open arms, accepting the hug. "Good morning."

Vanessa smiled and turned away from them, giving them a little privacy, as she peered out the window at the end of the hallway. The sun was shining bright over the mountain, the snow sparkling and the evergreens, pines, and firs standing tall and proud. She turned back to her brother and friend.

"Shall we head downstairs?" Vanessa asked.

Aelita nodded and Odd spoke. "Yes we shall."

They moved down the hall and down the stairs, moving into a large open library like room with several hallways branching from it. Large book cases lined the walls and pictures of wild life dotted the walls. Two sofas and four comfy looking chairs sat on an oriental rug with a coffee table between them. An older men sat in one of the chairs with a little girl in his lap, an open book held in her arms.

The girl, Aelita realized, was Odd and Vanessa's youngest sister, Mia.

Odd and Vanessa rushed forward simultaneously yelling "Barry!" and "Mia!" towards the two. Mia upon noticing them, pushed the book aside and smiled wide as Odd and Vanessa hugged her. Her hair had grown out a bit into a short blonde bob. Vanessa and Odd reached around her and hugged their grandfather, Barry.

"Hey kids. Long time no see. Merry early Christmas." Barry said as the two teens hugged him. He ruffled Odds hair and patted Vanessa's head.

As Vanessa talked to Mia, Odd turned to Aelita excitedly. "Aelita, this is our grandpa Barry."

Aelita smiled politely. "Hi. I'm Aelita. It's nice to meet you."

Barry took her hand and shook it. "Ah. Barry O Robbia. So you're the doll Odd always talks about."

Odd blushed, and Aelita smiled. "Well, I sure hope so."

Barry laughed . "Hey I like you. You got _spunk_."

Aelita smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind her hair. Vanessa knelt down in front of Mia.

"Mia, do you remember Aelita?"

Mia nodded and smiled, looking at Aelita. "You're the one with the really cool pink hair." She was speaking differently than how she did when Aelita first met her. Her words were clearer and she had better annunciation. She had grown a bit to.

Aelita nodded and touched her hair. "Yup. It's hard to forget this."

Mia smiled. "Do you think you could let me braid it…later?" The little girl asked.

Aelita nodded. "I would love that."

"Were heading down stairs to breakfast Barry." Odd said. "Do you guys want to join us?"

Mia pouted and grabbed the book Barry had been reading her. "No. Grandpa Barry has to finish reading Rapunzel to me."

Barry shrugged to the kids. "Duty calls. I'll catch up with you kids later. Oh, and I have to show you some pictures of the pieces I found in Italy last week." He said, referring to his career as a collector.

"Alright. Later Barry, Mia." Vanessa said, as did Aelita and Odd as they continued on.

They headed down the huge main staircase, sliding down the railing into the foyer they had entered through yesterday. Voices drifted through the foyer and grew louder as they walked down the hall and into the living room.

The living room was huge. Like the foyer, it had extremely high wooden ceilings and a large chandelier made of antlers and twinkly candle lights. A large stone fire place with a warm fire burning stood on one wall. Various candles of different sizes and colors sat on the wooden mantle. The stone continued high up to the ceiling, narrowing in a swift arch. Wooden shelves stretched across the stone, dotted with various (electric) candles of different sizes and colors, their 'flames' twinkling like real fire. Some of the shelves even had wolves and small lynxes perched on them, and Aelita had to do a double take to realize that they weren't real. The left wall had huge arched windows that ran up to nearly the ceiling. They looked out at the downward slope of the mountain and the beautiful dark sky beyond in a breath taking view. A huge Christmas tree that had yet to be decorated stood against the windowed wall, along with a beautiful grand piano. In the corner formed by the window wall and wall holding the fire place, a giant flat screen sat on an oak blanket chest. The opposite wall was the one they had emerged from, coming out of the hallway. Above, an upstairs hallway ran the length of the wall, overlooking the room. A small stage, only two feet off the ground, sat against the wall, and a door lead into a room behind it. Opposite the wall holding the fire place, the room led into a large dining room.

The room itself had several cozy chairs and couches, faux fur pillows and rugs, and wooden end tables and lamps. A few adults and teens dotted the couches, just talking and laughing or watching the news on the flat screen. Odd grasped her hand and lead her foreword as he began introducing her to everyone.

…

The hot sun beat down on the small blue car, which was nearly overflowing with suitcases and bags. Candy rolled her window down, sticking her head out. The white Irish setter, Algon, that had been lying in the seat next to her with its head in her lap sat up, sticking its head out with her, its tongue hanging out.

Candy smiled at the dog, and looked over at her brother, Kendal, a little more than a year older than her, who was sitting on the other side of the dog. He smiled at her, and rolled down his window, sticking his head out, and let out a woop. Candy laughed before turning to look out her window at the town. The town buzzed with life as they drove through it on the old road. People went in and out of little shops, palm trees proudly provided shade for the people trying to escape the sun. The ocean roared nearby, surfers and swimmers dotting the waves. Mexican music rang from the shops and colorful houses, a mariachi or two playing music and people dancing nearby. People sat out on their front porches talking and enjoying the day, not minding the heat. Dogs roaming the streets barked happily, and Algon would bark at them and wag his tail, talking to the other dogs in some silent canine language. People waved to them as they passed by, some of them strangers, and some of them familiar. Children played near the street, playing hop scotch, jump rope, and fútball. Candy actually caught a ball at one point which had bounced off course while their car was stopped at a stop sign. The group of children that it had bounced astray from watched her, waiting for the scolding. She smiled and tossed it back to them, shouting "Que tengas un buen día!" They shouted back "y tú!" and "gracias" as the car drove away.

Mexico.

Candy pulled her head back in, letting it fall back against the seat with a smile. Her brother did the same, crossing his arms behind his head.

They both let out a happy sigh and, simultaneously, said "Casa dulce casa."

Home sweet home.

Their mother, Aileen Estavoz, looked at them through the rear view mirror from her place in the passenger seat. Her eyes were sparkling in a true smile, something Candy hadn't seen in a while.

"You kids excited?" Their mother asked.

Candy and Kendal nodded.

"I can't wait to get in the water." Candy said, rubbing the dogs head.

"And surf again. The waves in Spain are so weak compared to here." Kendal said, leaning back and putting his feet up on the back of their fathers seat, earning a glare from their father Luis Estavoz.

"Kendal. Feet down."

Kendal smiled innocently. "¿Por que papa?"

Luis glared at him. "Because they smell like your Uncle Carlos's chicken coops back in the heat wave of 1997."

Kendal let his feet fall from the seat. "Ay."

The other three laughed as the car pulled into a neighborhood with homes a little higher in class than the homes in town. Candy stroked Algon quicker as excitement coursed through her veins. When she spotted their home, she couldn't help but take in a quick breath of air. She could hear her brother do the same.

They pulled into their driveway and spotted their grandparents on the porch sitting in Adirondack chairs along with their three dogs sleeping near their feet. The dogs perked up and began to bark, standing up and running down the front steps towards them. The dark brown pitbul, Tyson, the lean brindle boxer with a huge under bite, Zeus, and the tiny brown, black, and white Chihuahua Tibult ran to the car as it carefully and slowly went up the driveway. Algon wagged his tail fiercely, barking happily, and Candy let him jump out the window to greet the other three dogs.

They came to a stop and Kendel and Candy opened their doors and jumped out. Candy knelt down and pet all the dogs, praising them as they wagged their tails. Kendel greeted their grandparents as he ran past the porch and disappeared around the side of the house. Her dad shouted something to Kendel about helping unpack the car, but Kendel was long gone.

Candy stood up and took off after her brother.

"Hola Abuelo! Hola Abuela!" She shouted as she ran past the porch steps. Her grandparents shouted their hellos.

"Caramella Bella Maria Sevella Vashena Estavoz! You get back here and help unpack!" Her father shouted.

Ignoring him, Candy raced around the house. Her flip flops flew off as her feet padded through the grass. Candy pulled her pink shirt over her head, her blue swimsuit top contrasting with her red hair. She was already in her black board shorts. She dropped her shirt near where her brother had abandoned his a moment ago. Pushing through the old wooden gate, her feet hit the hot sand, the smell of sea water and the soft roar of waves inviting her in. The ocean was bright and blue and a bunch of her neighbors dotted the shared beach and dotted the water. She bolted across the sand to the back of the house, grabbing her surf board from its shelf on the back decks railing, and she raced towards the water, her brother already paddling out on his board.

The Della Robia's weren't the only beach bums at Kadic.

Her feet splashed through the water until it was two deep to run, and then her board hit the water. She started paddling. The smell of salt water, drops splashing into your face, the cool water soaking your arms, god she loved it. It was almost enough to make her forget that she was…

"Hey, Candy!" Her brother shouted from further out. He was sitting up on his board with two other people.

Candy squinted. "Is that Mateo and Shannon?" She asked to herself. As she got closer, she realized it was, and paddled quicker at the excitement of seeing two of her closest friends.

As she pulled up to them, she smilled, sitting up on her board like the others.

The one girl, Shannon, gasped. "Caramella!" She hugged Candy.

"Shannon!" Candy said, laughing.

Shannon smiled at her. "Yo no viste tu en siempre!" _(I haven't seen you in forever!) _Shannon had pin straight light brown hair, dark eyes, and very tan skin. She was short, but full of risk taking energy. They had been friends since they were six, she was the same age as Candy, and one of the prettiest girls at her school. She spoke a little English.

Candy laughed as she hugged her. "Yo sabo!" _(I know!) _"Te eché de menos!" _(I missed you!)_

Mateo pushed Shannons board so Shannon floated a bit away from Candy.

"Hey…" Shannon pouted as she was forced to let go of Candy. The other three laughed.

Shannon punched Mateo in the arm. Mateo yelped and rubbed his arm.

"Ay chica!" Candy giggled. This was the usual routine between Shannon and Mateo.

Candy had been friends with Mateo longer than she had been with Shannon. She knew him like she knew the back of her hand, and vice versa. He had long blue/black hair, and tan skin, slightly lighter than Candys. He was of average height for a guy his age, he was about half a year older than Candy and about the same height as her, but Candy was tall for her age. Mateo had a smile that could light up the night sky and was so funny. He had a little muscle, enough that he could get a few stares from girls on the beach but just barely. He was more fluent with English than Shannon, enough that he could have small conversations with Candy's mother's side of the family who didn't speak Spanish.

"Caramella! Como estas? Como es Francia?" _(How are you? How is France?) _He said, slinging an arm over her shoulder and giving her a side hug.

She smiled wider, grasping his hand that rested on her shoulder and squeezing it. "Muy bueno. Y Francia es fantastic." _(Very good. And France is fantastic.)_

"¿No es tan bueno como México, si?" _(Not as good as Mexico, right?)_ Mateo asked playfully.

Candy smiled. "Si. Not es tan bueno como Mexico." _(Yup. Not as good as Mexico.) _She replied playfully.

Shannon looked at Kendel, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Y tu Kendel? Como es Espana?" _(What about you Kendel? How's Spain?)_

Kendel shrugged. "Meh. Bueno. He hecho muchos amigos allí. Yo salí con algunos chicas. Pero te eché de menos Mexico. España no es tan divertido como México._ (Good. I've made so many friends there. I dated a few girls._ _But I missed Mexico. Spain isn't as fun as it.)_

"Hablando de fechando…" _(Speaking of dating…) _Shannon said, looking at Candy with a sly smile. "¿Tú exitado ver Damián?" _(Are you excited to see Damián?)_

Candy blinked. She hadn't really thought about him on her long journey over to Mexico. "Uhh… si. Muy exitado." _(Uhh… yes. Very evcited.)_

Mateo smiled at her. "Caria es teniendo un fiesta de playa de esta noche." _(Caria is having a beach party tonight.) _He grasped her shoulders and shook her playfully. "Todo el mundo iba, y Damián estará allí." _(Everyone is going, and Damián will be there.)_

Candy held her hands out, a big smile on her face. "Estoy en!" _(I'm in!)_

"Bueno!" Shannon shrieked as she hugged her again. Mateo gave her a high five and Kendel looked out at the waves that were coming in.

"Ahora que estamos todos lugares céntricos," _(Now that we are all reacquainted,) _Kendel said, smiling at the others. "deje de surf!'' _(Let's surf!)_

The others whooped and began to paddle after Kendel towards the incoming waves. Candy stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky. The sun shone down on her, and she smiled at it, before paddling after her brother and close friends.

…

Odd and Vanessa had introduced Aelita to everyone in the house. Everyone quickly took a liking to her and accepted her as part of the family. They had eaten breakfast and during it, Aelita learned three things. One, the family loved to cook. Two, the family was full of excellent cooks. And three, the family loved to eat. Odd had been reacquainted with Kiwi, and it was then that Aelita learned what had happened to the little dog after his absence in their first semester of freshmen year.

It turned out, Odd's parents had no knowledge of the little dog being housed in Odd and Ulrich's dorm. Odd had decided to bring the dog home the past summer, and lied to his parents when they picked him up at the air port, saying that he had found the dog in a dumpster near the airport. Up until that point, they had no idea of the dog's existence. They believed his story and accepted the dog into the family, but consequently, Odd wouldn't be able to bring Kiwi back to kadic.

After breakfast, the family had gone to work decorating. Aelita, Odd, and Odd's sisters Jessie and Laura had been assigned stringing Christmas lights on the trees around the front of the house, and the four had jumped into their winter gear and arched outside, huge boxes of Christmas lights in their arms.

By four o'clock, they had dressed nearly all the trees in the front yard in lights.

"Hey Aelita, come here." Laura called from over near the boxes of lights.

Aelita looked at Jessie and Odd who were standing on the other side of the small tree they were wrapping in lights. Jessies once long hair was cut in a spikey rokstarr sort of hair style, making it easier to tell the twins apart. She dressed darker than Laura too.

"You got it?" Aelita asked.

Jessie and Odd nodded. "Yeah we'll finish this tree up." Odd said patting a branch.

" There's not a lot left." Jessie confirmed with a smile.

Aelita nodded and walked over to Jessie's look alike, her boots crunching in the snow. She squatted down in the snow next to Laura, whose hands were in the box. Laura's brighter apparel and long blonde hair made her distinctly different from Jessie, and she actually looked more like Vanessa now.

"What is it Laura?" She asked the younger twin. Laura smiled and pulled out a bundle of lights. Upon closer inspection, Aelita realized that the little bulbs were pink.

Aelita laughed. "They're pink!"

Laura nodded and pushed the bundle of lights into Aelita's arms. "And since you have the freak'n awesome pink hair," She smiled. "I think it's only fair that you pick which tree gets the honor of wearing your color."

Aelita laughed again and took the lights, standing up. She surveyed the remaining few trees that stood in the snow covered garden that lined the front of the house. Picking out a small tree near the front door, she walked over to it, standing on her tip toes to reach the top, and began wrapping the lights around it.

She heard shuffling behind her, and Odd appeared on her right, holding a large bundle of lights in his arms as he frowned at the large tree.

"How am I going to do this?" He mumbled. One side of the tree was close to the house, close enough that the ladder wouldn't be able to fit between it and the house. But there was no way to get the lights on that side without the ladder because it was so tall.

Aelita smiled as she went back to wrapping the tiny tree in lights. "You could always go up on the roof."

She laughed at her suggestion, totally not being serious, and glanced at Odd.

He was smiling at her widely and his eyes were sparkling with mischief.

"Odd, I wasn't being serious…" But Odd had already dropped the lights and ran over to retrieve the ladder from the tree Jessie had just finished stringing with lights. Odd bolted back over, propping the ladder up close to the house, and started to climb, a big wad of lights bundled in his arms. He climbed onto the top, and reached up, grasping the overhang of the roof and pulling himself up.

"What's he up to now?" Laura asked, a wad of lights in her arm as she walked up to a tree nearby.

Aelita's head was in her hand as she gently shook it. "He's going to put the lights on the tree from the roof."

Jessie appeared beside Laura, taking the string of lights and helping her sister wind it around the tree. "He's such an idiot, it's icy up there."

"But it's working!" Odd shouted from the roof as he walked back and forth, running the lights around the tree. He was almost half way done, and it had taken him a fourth of the time it would have taken them with the ladder.

"You're going to fall, nitwit!" Their older brother Travis shouted from the top of a ladder nearby. He and their seventeen year old cousin Maddie were lining the perimeter of the houses roof with Christmas lights.

Maddie put another nail in, keeping the lights in place. "I may have just gotten my license Odd, but I will NOT drive you to the hospital if you fall."

Odd waved it off. "Aww can it you guys. I'm not going to fall. Besides, this way is so much quicker. Look!" He pointed to the tree which he had just finished stringing lights on. "I got that tree done faster than it would have taken with a ladder. What do you think?"

"I think you're an idiot." Travis said as he nailed another string of lights to the roof. Odd huffed and marched over to him, careful to avoid slipping off the roof. He bent over the side and took the hammer from him, and picked up the little box of nails between him and Maddie. He grasped the string of lights and began to walk along the roof, nailing down lights as he went.

Maddie and Travis watched, slightly impressed, while Aelita and the twins watched, waiting for the horrible (and maybe a bit funny) moment when Odd would fall.

A window on the third floor opened. A few of their younger cousins and Grandma Liz leaned out.

"Odd Xavier Della Robbia, what in God's name are you doing on the roof?"

Odd smiled up at her and held out the Christmas lights. "Decorating."

"You get down from there!"

Odd frowned. "Aww come on Liz. You always tell me to be efficient."

"We'll see how efficient you are with a broken leg if you don't get down from there!"

Odds frown grew. "Aww come on Liz, look at how quickly I got the lights up."

"Odd you get down from there this instant, or God help me I will come out there and get you down myself."

Odd held his hands up in defeat. Alright, alright. I'm going, I'm going." Grandma Liz nodded her approval and closed the window as Odd walked towards the edge of the roof.

But when he got to the edge, his foot caught the string of lights and he fell foreword, his other foot slipping on the ice, and he went tumbling over the edge.

Travis tried to grasp his brother as Maddie did the same, Jessie and Laura gasping as Aelita cried out his name, squeezing her eyes shut.

After a moment, she heard his voice. "Umm, I don't think I should ?"

Aelita opened her eyes. Odd was dangling a couple of feet from the ground by his foot, which was tangled up in the Christmas lights, which had saved him from most likely getting a concussion. Everyone gave a little sigh of relief, as did Odd, before the string of lights snapped and he fell into a bush.

"Ouch."

Everyone burst out laughing.

After that little incident, it didn't take them long to finish the lights. Jessie and Laura stayed outside to help Travis and Maddie put up the final lights on the roof, and Odd and Aelita headed inside.

They walked inside and looked around in awe. The foyer was completely decked out in Christmas décor.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Odds younger sister, Molly, who had just recently turned 14, said from the top of the stairs, as she slid down the banister, twisting a long green garland around it as she slid. She, Vanessa, Grandpa Barry and Odd's oldest brother (at 20 years old) Mark had been decorating the foyer.

Odd and Aelita nodded as they looked around. Barry surveyed the room from where he was standing, holding the ladder as mark hung up a wreath from the top.

"It looks great kids. The red ribbons around the banister garland were a nice touch Vanessa."

Vanessa smiled as she tied another red ribbon around the banister she was sitting on.

"Did you guys finish the lights?" Mark asked, not taking his eyes away from the wreath.

Odd nodded. "Yeah, the twins are just helping Trav and Maddie finish up the roof."

A smirk formed on Marks face, his eyes still not moving from the wreath. "Yeah, I heard you tried to help them and ended up falling from the roof."

Aelita giggled and Odd sheepishly rubbed his neck.

"I overestimated my Spiderman skills?"

Mark laughed, shaking his head as he finished with the wreath. He slid down the ladder and landed on the floor with a little hop. "If you guys are looking for something to do, Caitlyn and Aunt Kat are in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies."

"Perfect, we'll go help." Odd said, grasping Aelita's hand and walking towards the kitchen. They were about to enter one of the hallways when suddenly, Molly appeared in front of them, smiling mischievously.

"What are you…" Odd began, and Molly raised her hand, pointing her index finger up. Aelita and Odd's eyes roamed up to the ceiling, landing on the tiny mistletoe that hung ominously.

Aelita's face heated. "Oh." She said softly. She wasn't a very big fan of PDA and neither was Odd. Travis snickered and Vanessa whistled. Molly clasping her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels, waiting.

Aelita shyly peaked at Odd who was doing the same thing as her. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Aw jeez, this is a little embarrassing."

"For the love of Christmas, kiss her!" There Grandpa Barry said, leaning against the wall.

Odd shot him a glare, and brought his attention back to Aelita when he felt her squeeze his hand.

She was smiling shyly at him, and pushed her hair from her face. He smiled and closed his eyes, leaning in.

Their lips were just about to meet, when a cat's loud shriek filled the room, Mr. Strudel bolting right between them. Three little girls, Mia, Lola and Macy laughed as they followed the cat, pushing between Aelita and Odd, further separating them. Everyone started laughing as the girls chased the cat.

…

Jeremie cautiously pushed his bedroom door open and the sound of crying. He slowly walked down the hallway, pausing at the open door frame of his baby sisters.

His mother didn't take notice of him; she was too busy with the crying baby girl she held in her arms. She patted the baby's back, shushing the little girl, pleading for the little girl to go to sleep.

He could see the bags under his mom's eyes.

Jeremie stepped further into the room, and his mother noticed him.

"Oh Jeremie I've tried everything, she won't go to sleep." She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "I'm going to go grab her a bottle. Can you hold her for a moment?"

"Oh, um, I don't…" But his mother was already handing him the wailing baby. He took her semi awkwardly. His little sister was born a few days before he had to return to Kadic last summer, so he had not handled her much at all. He wasn't very good with babies.

Babies were very different from computes.

But his mother had already left going down to the kitchen. She quickly made a bottle, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes as she waited for it to heat up. She checked the temperature and quickly went back up stairs, walking down the hall and into the room, pausing at the doorway.

She smiled.

And silently leaned against the door frame.

"Hush little baby don't you cry." Jeremie softly sang. The baby was silent in his arms, watching him with heavy lidded eyes.

"Big brother Jeremie's singing you a lullaby."

"He's kinda new at this, so stick with him now."

"We'll get through this, though he doesn't know how."

"He's not a great singer, I bet you can tell."

He slowly put the sleeping baby down in the crib.

"But he really loves you, baby Isabelle."

**Yeah so the next few Christmas chapters flash between the Lyoko warriors and what they're doing. Christ my Spanish was horrible in this, I don't know how I passed my exam last month :P. But I'm really happy with how Candy's part of the chapter turned out. Stay tuned for some OddxAelita-ness, Della Robia family madness, Candy Backstoryness, and Xananess!**


	57. Chapter 57: Almost

*****PLEAS READ*****

**Hey guys. I've gotten major writers block with the Christmas break chapters, and instead of keeping you guys waiting or just rushing through it and making the chapters into crap, I'm going to go ahead and write all the winter break chapters into a different sub story. So this means that there will be a major time lapse between last chapter and this one. So just to catch you up on what happened between that time lapse, Jeremie has cracked the antivirus and now everyone is returning from winter break to Kadic, and they are planning the final defeat of Xana.**

**Oh, and for the anonymous chicka asking about Odd and Aelita's sex life, this fic is rated T and nothing too graphic of nature will take place in it; for example the content in chapters 5, 6, and 22 is probably as graphic as this fic will get. **

**I also would like to apologize for my disappearance. I got a PM from someone asking if I had died, and I would like to confirm that no, I did not die. I am very much alive. School soccer started a little more than a month ago and I am happy to report to you guys that not only did I make the team, but I am also a starter, which is a big deal to me because I hardly got any playing time last year. I have been bogged down with homework from all my AP classes, and it's been hard to find time to write. I should be able to write more frequently now because I know exactly what I'm writing for these last few chapters. So, enjoy :). **

"Thank you very much, my good man." Odd said, stepping out of the cab onto the side walk.

The driver glared at him expectantly.

Odd frowned, and got the message, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some crumpled bills, handing them to the irritated cab driver.

Aelita and Vanessa got out of the cab and walked around to the trunk to get their bags. They glanced at each other, stifling giggles as Odd continued to talk to the cab driver, oblivious to his irritation.

They let out duel sighs as they pulled their luggage out. Winter break had been fun. But now it was time to get back to work. Odd came around and pulled his luggage out as well, and when they were done, the cab driver pulled away from the curb and drove away, without offering any help or a goodbye.

"Well he was friendly." Vanessa mumbled.

Aelita giggled and Odd smiled.

Odd and Vanessa exchanged a glance, and Vanessa came to a silent understanding.

"Welp, I have a lot of unpacking to do." She said, gesturing to the four suitcases she had. She had done a lot of spring shopping while in Maine, and had to bring two extra suitcases to bring all of her clothes back. "So I'll leave you two do… whatever things you do when no ones around."

Odd rolled his eyes and Aelita laughed. Vanessa gave a tiny wave and then walked off, carrying her luggage to the best of her abilities.

Odd and Aelita watched Vanessa for another moment, before turning to eachother. A friendly silence floated around them, both deep in thought.

So much was about to happen.

Xana would be shut down for good by tomorrow afternoon.

Odd's hand instinctively found Aelita's, and he squeezed it. Aelita let a smile rise on her lips, but it wasn't genuine.

For some reason, she had a bad feeling about tomorrow.

…

Aelita dropped her luggage off in her room and Odd did in his. The two headed to Candy and Vanessa's room where they were supposed to meet the others, who had arrived earlier.

They were greeted by several hugs and hellos. Vanessa was trying to cram her clothes in her wardrobe, and ended up using some of Candy's closet space. Candy and Ulrich were playing DDR, and Yumi and Jeremie were sitting on Vanessa's bed, a laptop between them as the two of them focused on something on the screen. Aelita and Odd sat down on Candy's bed.

"Guys, turn that off, we should talk now." Jeremie said looking up from the screen at Ulrich and Candy.

Ulrich stepped off the DDR mat and sat down on the other side of Jeremie. Candy walked over to her bed where she had set the remote down, and as she bent over to grab the remote next to Aelita, the pink haired girl looked at her curiously.

"Candy, are you alright?" Aelita asked.

The red haired girls skin seemed a bit pallor than usual, and dark bags had formed under her eyes.

"Yeah, you look like you could drop dead any minute." Odd joked.

Candy smiled as she turned off the tv. "I'm fine Aelita." She then sat down next Aelita, slouching a bit. Aelita frowned, but tried not to worry about her. The others didn't seem to be making a big deal out of it, maybe she was just being paranoid. Her attention shifted to Jeremie as he looked around at them all.

"Yumi and I programmed the antivirus into the supercomputer before all of you got here. It is currently being downloaded as we speak, and at the rate it's being downloaded, should be ready to be activated by late tomorrow morning."

There was silence. So much emotion was floating around the room between them.

"Right now, I can almost assure you that Xana doesn't know we cracked the code to the antivirus. But once we activate the antivirus, Xana will know we have it. We'll have to work hard tomorrow. Xana will pull out all his tricks. He will not go down without a fight. But once the antivirus is downloaded into Aelita, I'll be able to bring you all back."

"And the super computer… should be shut down by tomorrow afternoon."

Silence. Dead silence. Everyone was swimming in their own thoughts. They all looked up at the sound of sniffling.

Aelita blinked back tears as everyone watched her. "You guys, thank you so much. You'll never know how grateful I am. You've fought for my freedom everyday, and I don't think I can ever thank you enough-"

And then she started to cry. And everyone went to her to hug her. Soon everyone was crying or close to it.

They had all given up so much in the fight against Xana. And soon, it would all be over.

…

Vanessa woke up early the next morning. Sunlight blazed brightly over her, and she snuggled deeper into her blankets. She rolled on to her side and looked across the room at Candy, who was lying on her back in her bed, arms crossed behind her head. She was smiling at the ceiling.

"Good morning." Vanessa mumbled.

"Morning." Candy replied. She pushed herself up onto her elbow and looked out the window over the campus. Vanessa climbed out of bed and walked over to their vanity, keeping the blanket around her.

She sat down on the tiny stool and picked up the case that she kept her purple contacts in, carefully putting them in her eyes. When she was done, she turned on the stool to look at Candy.

Like Aelita, she had been worried about Candy upon her arrival. But any traces of worry disappeared when she looked at her.

The red heads eyes were bright as she looked out the window, her skin didn't seem as pale and even looked a bit rosy.

Vanessa walked over to Candy's bed and plopped down next to the ginger.

Candy frowned as she watched the birds walk around in the snow.

"You think they're hungry?" Candy asked Vanessa.

Vanessa shrugged. "I don't know. When we go through the forest to get to the factory, I see bird feeders in the trees. I think Jim's supposed to fill them, but they're usually empty."

Candy's mouth twisted in thought. "What time did Jeremy say to meet at the factory today?"

"Eleven thirty."

"What time is it now?"

Vanessa glanced at the clock on her desk. "Seven twelve."

Candy smiled at her. "We have a couple of hours before we have to go to the factory. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Milk shakes for breakfast at the Dairy Princess down the street?"

Candy frowned. "No. We should go fill the bird feeders."

Vanessa groaned and burrowed into her purple blanket. "But it's cold outside."

"Vanessa, you were just thinking about getting cold milkshakes."

Vanessa groaned again. Candy shook her head and shoved the mass of purple blanket and Vanessa off her bed. She hit the floor with a thunk.

"Ow."

Candy rolled her emerald eyes and stood up. "Get up and get your snow stuff on."

…

Vanessa and Candy went to the schools shed and found several bags of bird seed inside. They tested the weight of the bags and found that they could only carry one each. So grabbing two bags of bird seed, the girls headed out into the forest. The birds seemed to know that they were bringing them food, and watched the girls from the tree branches with interest.

At one point on their walk, Candy stopped and brought a hand to her head, frowning.

"You ok?" Vanessa asked, also stopping.

Candy was quiet for another moment, eyes closed. She then opened them and smiled. "Yeah, I'm ok."

The two then continued.

Candy took a deep breath and smiled. "Don't you just love the forest?" She asked.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Candy, you've known me long enough to know that my idea of camping is sleeping in a hammock on the back porch of my house in California. I'm a city chick all the way."

Candy shook her head and laughed. "How can you not love it? The animals, the fresh air, the nature."

"Fucking hippie…" Vanessa mumbled. Candy smacked her on the arm for cussing and the two started laughing. They found a feeder, and the two started to fill it.

"Isn't it weird?" Candy said as she finished pouring the bird seed into the bird feeder.

"Isn't what weird?" Vanessa asked as the two walked towards another feeder.

"The whole super computer being shut down thing. I just think that it's weird that something that has been such a big focus of my life for the past few months is going to end. I can only imagine what it must be like for the others; they've been doing this for two years. Look at Aelita. This, fighting Xana, is all she knows. What's she going to do after this?"

Vanessa shrugged. "Well, I think it will take some time to readapt, but I think things will all turn out ok in the end."

Candy nodded. The two of them continued to walk through the forest filling the feeders and talking. They spotted several squirrels, two rabbits, and even a deer throughout their walk, and plenty of birds.

Candy frowned as she looked at her bag of bird seed. They had used Vanessa's entire bag, and now Candy's was almost gone.

Vanessa peered inside the bag, and then looked up at a nearby tree. There was a feeder in the tree, and it looked like the remaining bird seed they had would fill it up perfectly.

"Do you want to fill that feeder up and then head back?" Vanessa asked.

Candy twisted her mouth in thought. "I kind of wanted to fill up a few more feeders."

Vanessa shrugged. "Ok. Why don't you fill up that feeder while I go get another bag of bird seed."

Candy smiled. "You'd do that?"

"Sure. The sheds actually really close by."

"Thanks V." Candy said, smiling.

Vanessa waved it off. "No problem. I'll be back in a sec."

Candy watched Vanessa walk off before turning back to the tree with the feeder in it. This feeder was actually a little higher in the tree, and she couldn't reach it from the ground. Candy eyed one of the trees thick branches. If she stood on the branch, she'd be able to reach the feeder.

Candy speculated it for a moment, before mumbling "Reto aceptado" under her breath.

She stood on her tip toes, putting the bag of bird seed on the branch so it securely rested against the trunk. Then she grasped the branch, and pulled herself up.

The ginger smiled as she reached for another ranch to hold onto as she stood up on the thick branch.

But as she was pulling herself into a standing position, the branch above that she was holding snapped, and she lost her balance.

She caught herself though, having climbed many trees back growing up, and gave a slight sigh of relief as she fully stood.

She grabbed the bag of bird seed and started to fill the bird feeder up, humming softly to herself.

Pain suddenly hit her head. She gasped and brought a hand to her head, dropping the bag of bird seed. She suddenly couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred and the world seemed to spin. Her hat caught on a branch but she hardly noticed as the world began to blur, she lost her balance, and grasped at the bird feeder for support, and it broke from the branch it was hanging from as she fell over the side, her vision going black and her mind going blank.

…

"Hey baby won't you look my way I could be your new addiction!"

Vanessa sang as she walked through the forest, bag of bird seed held snuggly in her arms.

"Hey baby what cha gotta say, all you're giving me is fiction!"

She hadn't noticed the birds had stopped chirping.

"I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time!"

She was closing in on the spot she had left Candy at and was beginning to pay closer attention.

"I found out that…"

Over the top of the pine tree she was walking towards, she could see Candy's hat stuck on a branch in the tree she was sure she had seen a feeder in.

"…everybody talks,"

She curiously began to walk around the pine tree.

"…everybody talk-"

She dropped the bag of bird seed, and its contents spilled out over her feet and the snow around her.

"CANDY!"

…

Jeremie sat in the super computer chair, cheek resting on his hand. Aelita sat on the chairs arm looking at the floor, lost in thought, Odd was sitting nearby throwing a tennis ball at the wall, his cell phone between his shoulder and ear, and Yumi and Ulrich were leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

Jeremie looked at his watch. It was eleven fifty four. He sighed. "Where are they? They should have been here more than twenty minutes ago!"

"I've called Candy six times already. I keep getting voice mail." Yumi said, shaking her head.

Odd hung up his phone and shook his head. "That was the eighth time I've called V. She's not picking up either." He looked up at Jeremie. "And you're sure Xana didn't launch an attack to mess with them."

"Positive." Jeremie said, checking one more time just to make sure, and once again, coming up with nothing. He shook his head. "Unbelievable. Out of all the times to be late, they choose now to be irresponsible. One of the most important days of our lives."

"We could go in without them." Yumi suggested.

Ulrich immediately shook his head. "Xana is going to pull out all the troops. It would be stupid to go in with only three people to protect Aelita."

"Then let's send Einstein in too." Odd suggested.

"Odd, I'd probably end up accidentally devirtualizing Aelita. Besides, I need to be out here to monitor the downloading of the antivirus."

Yumi nodded. "Then we can only wait for-"

She was cut off by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Everyone looked at Ulrich as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Hello? Vanessa? Where have you been we've, what? Wait, hang on, calm down. Tell me exactly what happened. Ok. Uh-huh. Oh, Oh god. Ok. Alright. We'll be there as soon as possible. Everything will be ok. Ok. Bye."

Ulrich hung up. "Come on, we have to go." He said, walking to the elevator and hitting the button.

"What happened?" Aelita asked, finally speaking up.

Ulrich looked up at them just as the doors opened.

"Candy's in the hospital."

"She had a seizure."

**Sorry for the cliff hanger. Next chapter Candy's illness/disease/disorder will be revealed. I'll try to update soon,(hopefully tomorrow) until then, byyyyye. **

**Look, it's a snake.**

**He wants you to write a nice review c:**


	58. Chapter 58: Candy

The five friends spilled out of the cab. Odd shoved several bills towards the driver before catching up with the others as they ran down the side walk towards the hospital main doors. Just as they began to go through the doors, Yumi hesitated, and looked up at the building.

Aelita paused, looking back at Yumi. "What's wrong?"

Yumi broke from her trance and looked at Aelita. "Nothing, there's just a lot of bad memories associated with this place, and now we're going to have another one." She followed Aelita inside.

The gang quickly spotted Vanessa in the waiting room at the sight of her purple sequined Uggs. She was sitting in a chair, legs curled up to her chest and face buried in her knees. Ulrich and Yumi took the seats on either side of her, and Jeremy, Aelita and Odd sat across from them.

Yumi placed a hand on Vanessa's back and the blonde girl jumped a bit, and looked up. Her eyes were puffy and her eye makeup slightly smeared.

"Before Odd makes any snide comments about your ruined make up," Yumi said, glancing at Odd. "Is Candy ok?"

Vanessa gave a little sigh. "A doctor just came to talk to me a few minutes ago. She's awake, breathing, has a pulse, and most importantly, not dead, so yeah, she's ok."

A small weight had been lifted off everyone's shoulders, but one question remained.

Why.

A nurse walked into the waiting room, looking around. She noticed Vanessa and then the other teenagers around her, and started to walk over to them. A soft smile spread on her lips.

"Caramella is stable enough to take visitors now."

The six teens all quickly stood up.

"She requested that I only let one of you in though. She asked to talk to Yumi."

They all looked at Yumi who blinked a little in surprise. "Yeah… that's me."

The nurse nodded and began to lead her towards the inner works of the hospital, and Yumi glanced back over her shoulder at her friends one last time before disappearing through the doors.

The nurse lead her down several halls before stopping outside one of the doors.

"We still have to run a few more tests on Caramella, so I'll be back in a little while to escort you out." The nurse nodded at the door, granting Yumi permission to go in. The teen walked in.

Candy was sitting in the hospital bed, looking out the window. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps entering her room.

Yumi smiled. "Hey."

A tiny smile peeked at the corners of Candy's lips. "Hi."

Yumi sat down in the chair next to Candy's bed. "Are you feeling any better?"

Candy gave a tiny shrug and looked down at the blanket pooled around her waist. "Physically? Yes. Mentally? No."

Yumi watched Candy, silently encouraging her on.

"Yumi, I'm not good at telling people things, especially things like this. I don't have those kinds of social graces. You, you do. That's why I only wanted to talk to you. I was hoping you could tell the others… what I'm about to tell you."

Yumi nodded. "Of course. No problem at all."

Candy looked up at her. "You sure you're ok with this?"

Yumi nodded again. "Absolutely."

Candy looked down at the blanket, picking at a stray strand. "I've been keeping a secret from you guys."

Yumi listened patiently.

"I didn't tell you guys because it's embarrassing. I didn't want you guys to think I was a freak… like everyone at my old school in Mexico did when this got leaked. And honestly, I never thought I would have to. The medication kept everything under wraps, and besides a few migraines and space outs, everything was going along fine."

Candy still hadn't made eye contact. "My doctors thought I was making tremendous progress, and lowered the dosage of medication I was taking…and we can all see how that turned out."

The smallest of smiles appeared on Yumi's face. It was nice to see Candy still had her sense of humor in a situation like this.

"So, they're going to increase my dosage again, and all the progress I've made has basically been erased now."

"So… I guess I should just come out and say what's wrong with me."

There was another moment of silence. Candy was looking at Yumi now.

"Yumi, I have…"

Candy broke eye contact and was silent for another moment, hesitating. And when the word finally tumbled softly off her lips, Yumi went dead still. She remained in light shock for another moment before she stood up, sat on the bed right next to Candy, and let her rest her head on her shoulder as she reassured her that everything would work out fine.

_Schizophrenia._

…

The six teens sat silent in the waiting room. Vanessa had put her head in her hands, and Yumi rubbed her back. She had just told them the news.

Finally Odd shook his head. "Why are you guys all acting like she died? Huh? She has schizophrenia! It's not that horrible."

Jeremie slammed the science magazine he had been reading earlier down on one of the end tables, the noise making everyone jump and look at him.

"Odd, Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects your reasoning, relationships, personality, logic, state of mind, physical health, I could go on forever. Do you not understand how hard this must be for Candy to live with? How can you be this insensitive?"

"I'm not being insensitive, I'm being optimistic. She has Schizophrenia, not stage four cancer. You're acting like she's going to die; you're being pitiful. Do you think Candy is going to want that? She's not. She's gonna want to be treated as an equal; the way we've _been _treating her."

There was a brief silence, the same question going around in everyone's mind.

Odd crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Sam's mom is Schizophrenic." He said softly.

"Before we bring up anything else," Ulrich said "let's just make sure we're all on the same page. We all agree that we keep Candy on the Lyoko team, as long as she wants to, right?"

They all nodded, a few "of course"s were said, and they all agreed to keep her on the team, that there was no way they would kick her off because of this.

"Yumi, did Candy tell you what kind of Schizophrenia she has?" Aelita asked.

"Paranoid Schizophrenia." Yumi said. "She said that she's had it for nearly ten years, which is why she's so good at masking and controlling it. She didn't tell me much detail other than that though. She was being really cautious about the amount of detail she gave me."

"You guys," Vanessa cut in. "What are we going to do about today's mission?"

"Let's talk to Candy about it." Jeremie said, standing up.

…

"I'll be out of here by tomorrow around noon. I won't be offended if you decide to go today without me." Candy said, sitting in the hospital bed, her friends around her in a half circle.

There was a long silence before Aelita finally spoke. "I think we should wait for Candy."

Jeremie nodded. "We'll need as much help as possible when we launch the antivirus. We haven't activated it yet, so Xana doesn't know we've got it yet. He won't have any more of an upper hand tomorrow than he did today."

Candy sent a small smile in Aelita and Jeremie's direction.

"I agree with Jeremie on this one. Candy should be there, as long as she's up to it, of course." Ulrich said.

Candy's smile grew. "Oh I'll be up for it, it's just a matter of whether or not you guys are ok with waiting an extra day."

"I'm cool with it to." Vanessa said.

"I guess I am as well." Yumi said smiling.

"We're a team."Ulrich said smiling. "We got into this together, we end this together."

"So tomorrow, we fight to our last breath to take Xana down." Odd said.

He put his hand in the middle of all of them, and the others put their hands in as well.

"Enjoy your last day Xana." Jeremie said, smiling at everyone. "Because tomorrow, you're dead."

**The decision of what exactly Candy's disease/disorder/illness would be was debated on until literally the day I wrote this chapter. I had a bunch of different ideas for what would be wrong with her; Cancer, Leukemia, Lupus, all were ideas I had. Obviously, in Chasing Fate Candy's Schizophrenia will be further explored, but guys, omg, Destinies Realized is almost complete. I can't begin to tell you the feelings that are going through me. Do me a solid and review! **


	59. Chapter 59: Final

**Welp, this is it. I feel like this story is my baby. I've watched it grown, and now it's going off to college. Oh god, I might cry. Thank you everyone for sticking with me through it all. Two years. Gosh. Thank you all so much, and stay tuned for Chasing Fate. **

Dark clouds covered the sky, the morning sun cowering behind them. The wind stirred the snow, blowing it up from the ground in a light dance of twists and twirls. The birds were silent, save a soft chirp every so often. The city stood silent as well. Hardly any cars drove through the streets and even less people walked them. There was an uneasy feeling of quiet in the world, as if it had hit the snooze on its alarm clock and crawled back into bed, curling up under the blankets.

Soft, quick steps crunched through the snow that had collected on the bridge. Seven teens moved over the bridge, focused and determined. They were completely silent but their thoughts were racing. They got to the end, the factory towering over them.

Aelita surprised them all by leaping foreword first, grasping the cable and swinging down. The others followed suite, and they landed on the cement bellow, the sound of their landings echoing off the walls.

They moved together towards the old elevator, and Yumi hit the button. The doors hissed open, and they all got in. Odd hit the down button, and the doors hissed closed, before the elevator rolled down, leaving the upper level of the factory empty again.

The doors opened up to the computer room. They all emptied out, following Jeremie over to the computer chair.

The blonde slid into the chair and began to type. "Alright guys, this is it. The antivirus can only be activated in a place strong enough to sustain the amount of energy needed for the antivirus. I've located a highly energized chamber in sector five, so that's where you're going to take Aelita. I won't activate the antivirus until you get there so Xana won't know we have it until it's too late."

"We need to be careful. No messing around or goofing off." Ulrich said, looking at Odd.

Instead of getting insulted or making a snide remark, Odd nodded. "We can't do anything risky. We keep someone with Aelita at all times, at arm's reach, and she shouldn't be alone at any given moment."

A silence filled the room as everyone watched Odd. He looked down at the ground. "We can't mess this up, not when she's so close to freedom."

Aelita smiled softly and squeezed his hand. She could see a smile spread on his face as he squeezed back.

"I'll send you guys to the edge of the desert sector." He spun in the chair to face them all. "Ready?"

They all nodded. "Ready."

"Alright. Good luck." Jeremie said. His gaze landed on Aelita. "And stay safe."

She nodded and led the others into the elevator. They appeared a moment later in the scanner room.

"Send Aelita in the second string; it's safer." Jeremie's voice rang through the speakers.

The six looked at each other, and Vanessa, Ulrich and Yumi stepped forward, going to their separate scanners.

"Transfer Yumi. Transfer Ulrich. Transfer Vanessa." Jeremie typed quickly, knowing Xana was growing suspicious with their sudden activity.

"Virtualization."

Yumi, Vanessa, and Ulrich soon found themselves hanging in the virtual air of the desert sector. They dropped down, each landing on their feet.

Ulrich studied the two girls feet. "How do you guys land so perfectly in those demon shoes?" He said, referring to the height of their heels.

The girls both shrugged.

"I guess it's a natural female talent." Vanessa said.

"Are you kidding?" Yumi exclaimed. "It took me a month's worth of Lyoko visits to learn how to walk in these things."

Vanessa shrugged again. "Beauty's pain."

"Then by that logic I should be dead." Odd said as he, Aelita, and Candy were virtualized above them.

The three moved quickly out of the way as Aelita, Odd, and Candy dropped down. Odd and Aelita landed well; Candy… not so much.

"Hey, clean up your act ." Odd said, smiling.

Candy frowned at Odd as Yumi helped her up. "Do you know how disoriented I get when I'm virtualized? Give me a break, would you?"

"Guys, guys, save the fighting for Xana's monsters." Jeremie said. "I'm sending you your vehicles."

After a moment of waiting, the over board, bike, wing, and disk virtualized.

Odd bowed to Aelita and offered his hand. "My Lady, your chariot awaits."

Aelita smiled and took his hand as he helped her up. Odd then stepped on.

Vanessa stepped onto the over disk, which she had accustomed to riding, and Ulrich climbed on to the over bike; Candy and Yumi on the over wing.

"Go north until you reach the end of the sector. From there, the transport orb will take you to Carthage."

"Ay ay, captain." Ulrich said, before speeding foreword. The others followed and they headed across the desert.

Jeremie's eyes flicked to the map at the sight of an alert. "Oh boy. You've got twelve monsters heading toward you."

Yumi's eyes widened. "Did I hear you correctly? _Twelve_?"

"That's right." Jeremie said, folding his hands under his chin. "Xana's on to us. Six hornets, three bloks and three tarantulas, straight ahead."

Ulrich looked up at Odd and Aelita, who were flying above them.

"Odd, let Vanessa take Aelita. She has a good shield and is our strongest defense." Odd looked at Ulrich and nodded. He flew closer to Vanessa, letting Vanessa take Aelita's hand and jump onto the over disk.

"Odd, you're good with aerial attacks, you take the hornets. Yumi, Candy, you two get the tarantulas. I've got the bloks. Vanessa, hang back and keep Aelita safe."

The monsters came into view. Odd flew up into the sky at the hornets.

"Yoo hoo! Over here!" Odd waved at the hornets, catching their attention and leading them away from the rest of the monsters.

The overwing flew towards the tarantulas. They sat back on their hind legs and started firing at the girls. Yumi drove in a wide ark over them, Candy blocking the lasers with her blades.

Yumi quickly took her hands from the wheel to pull out her two fans. She threw them quickly before grabbing the wheel again. One of her fans completely missed, getting wedged into the ground. The other barely skimmed the creeper, flying past and nearly hitting Vanessa, but Aelita managed to catch it.

"Watch it Yumi!" Vanessa shouted, driving the over disk towards some boulders for shelter.

Yumi shook her head. "Sorry!" She glanced at the sky. "Jeremie, can you get me two more fans?"

Jeremie began typing. "I'm on it."

Aelita glanced at Odd who was speeding past them, the swarm of hornets on his tail. She threw Yumi's fan, and it sliced through the swarm to Yumi, who caught it. One of the hornets exploded.

Odd smiled. "Nice one princess."

Yumi glanced back up. "Make that one fan, Jeremie."

Aelita smiled but quickly frowned. Two hornets had split from the other three and were flying towards Vanessa and her.

"V…!" Aelita warned, tightening her hold around Vanessa's waist. Vanessa flew them away, passing over Ulrich.

Ulrich drove the bike straight at one of the bloks. His eyes narrowed as he hit full speed. At the last moment he leapt from the bike into the air, the bike crashing into the blok and exploding.

As he fell down, a flash of purple zoomed below him, and Ulrich landed on the back of Odd's overboard.

Odd glanced over his shoulder at Ulrich. "Hey Ulrich. Nice of you to _drop_ by."

Ulrich glared, standing up and holding Odd's shoulder for support. The two let out startled gasps when lasers were fired at them, both getting hit before Ulrich came to his senses and started blocking lasers with his sword. Odd turned and fired a laser arrow, taking out one of the three hornets.

"Odd! Drop me off somewhere!" Ulrich cried.

"Alright. Thank you for flying air Odd, we appreciate-"

"Now!"

So Odd quickly flew upside down in a loop, Ulrich being unprepared for it and falling off to the ground below.

Ulrich groaned sitting up. Odd came down from the loop and flew past Ulrich.

"You said 'now'!" Odd cried, flying away with the hornets close behind.

Ulrich shook his head and stood, running towards the bloks. Yumi's fans flew past him.

Yumi frowned as she caught her fans. They had missed again. She glanced from the steering wheel back to Candy. "It would make a lot more sense if you were driving."

Candy nodded. "Probably."

The two girls quickly switched, Yumi blocking a few lasers along the way.

Vanessa did her best to hold up a shield and drive the over disk at the same time, but it was hard. It was even harder with two people; the disk was only meant for one person. Vanessa cringed as her shield shattered. Aelita gasped as the hornets started firing.

In a desperate attempt to shield Aelita, Vanessa shifted all of her weight to the front of the disk. The back flew up and blocked the lasers, and the girls tumbled to the ground below. A hornet shot at Aelita, and Vanessa sent a blast of energy at it. The hornet exploded just as the laser hit Aelita.

Vanessa threw herself in front of Aelita, taking the blasts from the remaining hornet.

"Vanessa! You have a shield for a reason!" Jeremie shouted.

Realization hit Vanessa and she quickly put up a shield. The hornet fired a few more times before Vanessa reached around and blasted it.

The explosion of the hornet went off just as the tarantula nearby blew up. Yumi's fans spun from the blast and into her waiting hands.

Yumi smiled. "Yes!"

Candy looked down at the remaining tarantula. "Get ready to take the wheel. I've got this last one."

Yumi nodded and Candy turned. She swooped low and jumped from the over wing onto the creepers head.

"Hola." She said, peering down at it. The tarantula tried to shake her off and threw its head back. Candy was thrown high, back flipping and landing on her hands on the tarantulas head. She spun using her legs for momentum and buckled her elbows, the blades slicing through the eye of Xana on the tarantulas head. She jumped away as it exploded, tucking and rolling past a blok.

The two bloks stood on either side of Ulrich. Ulrich made eye contact with Yumi who was flying overhead, a silent understanding passing between them. Ulrich looked to his left and right as the bloks charged up a blast. He smiled.

Yumi grabbed him just as they released their blasts. The lasers hit the opposite blok, and the monsters exploded.

Yumi glanced over her shoulder at Ulrich and the two exchanged knowing smiles before Yumi turned around to focus on driving. Odd passed them.

Odd flew over the land. He quickly spun the board, driving towards the hornets. He drove straight between them. They fired at him in a storm of lasers. The two hornets managed to shoot each other on accident, but Odd still got hit.

He drove the overboard over to Vanessa and Aelita, where everyone seemed to be meeting up.

"Is that all of them?" Aelita asked.

"For now." Jeremie answered. The edge of the sector isn't too far from you. Straight ahead, you can't miss it."

They looked, seeing the long strip of land leading out.

Candy climbed back onto the over wing with Yumi and Odd helped Aelita onto the over board.

"What about us?" Vanessa asked.

Ulrich nodded. "Our vehicles were destroyed by the monsters."

Yumi smirked. "If I remember correctly, you're the one that drove the over bike into a blok."

Ulrich glared at her and she stuck out her tongue.

"I can program another vehicle. It'll just take a couple minutes."

"We don't have a couple minutes." Vanessa said, something in the distance catching her eye.

"Xana's sending more monsters. We have to leave _now._"

Ulrich looked at Vanessa and sighed. "Let's hope you're as light weight as you look."

And before she could say anything, he quickly grabbed her, hoisted her up onto his back, and super sprinted down the thin strip of land. The others followed, the new monsters close behind.

"I'm sending the transport orb." Jeremie said, typing in the code.

Ulrich stopped at the end, letting Vanessa down as the transport orb came into sight. Odd and Aelita jumped off the board and landed next to them. Yumi and Candy barely made it, both diving from the over wing into the orb just as it picked them up.

…

The six teens found themselves in the arena, backs facing each other and looking out. The room spun around them.

"Alright you guys. It won't be the usual 'get the key, stop the timer' mission. You'll have to get to the room where the antivirus can be activated through a certain route. Just because you aren't on a time limit doesn't mean you can move slow; Xana could send monsters at any moment."

The room stopped spinning and a passage opened up.

The gang exchanged glances before they ran foreword. Jeremie directed them through twists and turns, deeper in sector 5, Ulrich at the head of the pack.

"Left." Jeremie said.

Ulrich went around the corner and was knocked back as a laser pelted his chest, sent by one of two bloks blocking the path.

Odd skidded in front of him, firing at one of the bloks as he slid. Candy ran foreword around the corner, and jumped onto the other blok. She sliced the eye before jumping onto the high part of the wall, out of blast range as the two bloks exploded.

"You alright?" Vanessa asked Ulrich, watching Aelita help him up.

Ulrich nodded. "They caught me by surprise. A little warning next time Jeremie."

"Sorry, my bad. There's a lot of stuff I'm keeping track of up here. Go straight down that hallway then make a right."

Yumi took the lead and ran ahead down the hallway. She made a right turn and frowned. At the end of the hallway there was just a wall with two creepers hanging on it, ready to fire.

"Jeremie, it looks like this hallway has a dead end." Yumi said, pulling out her fans and blocking a laser. The others pulled out their weapons as well.

"There's a hole on the floor right before the wall. You'll drop down into the next hallway."

Yumi could see the hole now. She blocked as many lasers as she could and dodged the rest, letting the others handle them.

Once she was close enough, she threw both her fans, and they sliced through the air, hitting the creepers right on target. They exploded, and Yumi jumped just as she got to the hole in the ground. She caught her fans before disappearing below. The others jumped in as well, Odd pounced onto the wall the creepers had been on before jumping in though, back flipping off it before disappearing below, and Vanessa made sure to do a 360 flip.

Odd glared at his sister as he stood up from his crouched landing position. "You just did that to one up me."

Vanessa smiled, standing. "What? Mau? I would never."

"Stop your bickering and let's go." Candy said, beginning to run down the tunnel. The tunnel went down in a gentle slope, a few turns here and there. It was black, save the light blue coding that flickered on the curved walls, providing them with enough light.

"This is so cool." Candy said, looking around.

The others nodded in agreement. They ran in silence for a while.

"Wait, wait. Guys, stop." Aelita said, coming to a halt. The others did as well.

"Do you hear that?" She asked.

In the distance, everyone could make out a light rumbling noise, that seemed to be growing louder and louder. The tunnel began to shake.

Jeremie looked at the map and saw what it was. "Run!"

Aelita, who had enough experience on Lyoko to know that when someone says 'run,' you get the hell out of there, took off down the tunnel.

Candy's eyes widened; she had been looking up the tunnel, the way they had came, and saw it first.

"Run!" She repeated. The others looked and saw a megatank rolling down the tunnel towards them, and they took off after Candy and Aelita running.

They sprinted down the tunnel as fast as they could, but the magatank was closing the distance between them.

"Just a little further! The tunnel opens up into a ravine up ahead!" Jeremie yelled, nearly pulling his hair out of his head.

They could see the bright light at the end of the tunnel; they were almost out. Candy sprinted ahead, the light nearly blinding her.

"Wait, watch out!"

That's when she saw the krab only four feet in front of her. She yelped and ducked, sliding under it.

That wasn't the only thing Jeremie was warning her about though.

The tunnel opened up onto a small ledge that hung over a ravine. Candy slid right over the side, grasping the edge just before she fell to her doom.

Aelita slid under the krab, and made the same mistake of going straight, and she flew over the side just as Ulrich, Vanessa, Yumi and Odd jumped to the right and left sides of the ledge.

Candy caught Aelita's hand with her free one and she slammed back into the ledge they were hanging from. The megatank crashed into the krab like it was nothing, and flew over the edge, falling to the depths below.

Candy cringed, feeling her grasp on the edge begin to slip.

"_Ayuda me!" _Candy spat. The others bolted into action as Candy swung Aelita as hard as she could, flinging her up onto the ledge. Ulrich grabbed the pink haired girl as Yumi reached for Candy, but she had already let go.

Odd fired a laser arrow at Candy as she fell, and the Ginger was devirtualized.

…

Candy stumbled out of the scanner, holding her head. She moved to the elevator and ascended up to the computer lab.

She dragged herself into the room, towards Jeremie.

He tossed her a quick smile before returning his attention back to the supercomputer. "Welcome to earth Candy."

Candy shook her head leaning on the computer chair. "It's a good thing we're ending all this today, or Lyoko would be the death of me." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Or Aelita."

"Wait, by 'or Aelita' do you mean Lyoko will be the death of Aelita, or Aelita will be the death of you?" Ulrich asked from inside Lyoko, smiling.

Candy shook her head, smiling. "Both."

Aelita shrugged and smiled. "I'm a lot to manage, sorry."

The five gathered at the edge of the platform, looking out over the huge ravine. Small platforms were floating in the air.

"You need to get across the ravine to that passage. It will take you to the room where I can activate the antivirus." Jeremie said.

The warriors looked across the huge room, and could see the opening Jeremie was talking about.

"How are we supposed to get across?" Yumi asked. "There's no way we can make the jumps between those platforms." Yumi put a warning hand on Odd's shoulder, not even having to look to know he would try. "Don't try it Odd."

Vanessa frowned, thinking. "I can conjure small energy tiles with my energy beams. We can use those to get from platform to platform."

"Right now that looks like your only option." Jeremie said.

Vanessa nodded and stepped up to the end of the ledge. She took a deep breath. She rose her hands, her fingers loose, relaxed, her eyes closed. She spread her fingers, locking them and extending her arms fully, eyes sparkling with focus.

Ten small, purple, tiles of energy lead up to the first platform. Vanessa stood waiting.

"I can't hold these forever." Vanessa said, looking at them for only a second before bringing her attention back to the tiles.

Odd slowly stepped to the edge of the platform. He looked at the tiles cautiously.

He had seen Vanessa run through the air using these as steps many times on Lyoko, but she had never conjured steps for other people, and to be honest, he was a bit scarred.

But he trusted his big sister.

He stepped on the tile and glanced at Vanessa. She kept the same focused expression. He turned back around and slowly walked up the tiles, before safely stepping onto the platform.

Aelita went next, and then Yumi.

Then it was just Ulrich and Vanessa.

Ulrich cautiously looked over the edge again. They were so high up. This was not a good situation for someone with vertigo to be in.

"Ulrich."

Ulrich looked up at Yumi.

"Ulrich, don't look down, just look at me. It's only ten steps. Ten steps and you'll be fine."

Ulrich gulped. He looked over the edge again.

"Ulrich."

He looked at Yumi, who was standing right at the top, waiting for him, hand extended.

Slowly, he stepped to the edge. He forced himself not to look down, to look at Yumi. He took a deep breath.

"Anytime now." Vanessa muttered.

Ulrich didn't let her rudeness get to him. He stepped up onto the first tile, looking at Yumi. Then he stepped onto the next. Then the next. And the next. And in no time he had stepped onto the platform, and hugged Yumi.

"Thank you." He whispered into her hair. She just smiled as she held him.

Vanessa quickly scaled the steps, letting them disappear behind her. When she got to the platform, she looked out over the ravine, frowning.

"This is going to take a while."

They repeated the same technique a few more times until they had made it to a platform near the middle of the room. There were no more platforms between them and the exit, and the gap between them was huge.

Everyone looked at Vanessa, unsure if she'd be able to do it.

Vanessa took a deep breath, raising her arms. Thirty tiles lined up between them and the exit. But they started shaking and quickly shattered as Vanessa dropped onto one knee.

"V!" Odd shouted.

"Vanessa, you just lost twenty life points!"

Vanessa held her head, frowning. "Ok… bad idea."

Aelita looked across, examining the distance. "Vanessa, why don't you try doing two tiles at a time with one person, like the way you do when you're using them."

Vanessa stood up and made two tiles. "Yeah I can handle that."

Everyone glanced around to see who was going to go first.

"You know what?" Ulrich said. "You'll probably end up dropping me anyways, so I might as well get it over with sooner than later."

Odd slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit Ulrich!"

Ulrich glared at him and strolled to the side of the platform. He stepped onto the first tile, and then onto the second. The first tile disappeared and a third tile appeared in front of him. Once he was on the third, a fourth appeared and the second disappeared. This continued on as Ulrich cautiously crossed the ravine.

When he finally got to the ledge that the exit was on, he muttered a silent thank you before waving across to show he had made it unharmed.

Vanessa sighed, dropping her arms to rest.

"Vanessa, you lost a few life points from fatigue. Be careful." Jeremie warned.

Vanessa nodded even though he couldn't see her. Vanessa then sent Yumi across. Her hands had started to shake a bit but she got Yumi across.

"Vanessa, you lost another ten life points. Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"

"We don't have a choice." Vanessa said, raising her hands and creating another two tiles.

Aelita stepped onto the tile. "I'll go quick Vanessa." And she quickly stepped from one tile to the next.

Vanessa was breathing hard. She had to keep blinking to make keep her vision from getting blurry.

"You guys, monsters closing in quick!"

Suddenly, a laser hit Vanessa in the back. She yelped and the tiles shook, nearly shattering, and Aelita nearly fell.

They looked back and saw three hornets flying towards Vanessa and Odd.

Odd turned to look at Aelita. "Aelita, go!" He yelled, as he stood in front of Vanessa, using his purple shield.

Aelita stood up on the shaking tile and jumped to the next one. She jumped two more before she had to stop. Vanessa hadn't created another one for her to step on yet.

"Vanessa, you're losing life points steadily now; just rest for a moment!" Jeremie shouted.

Vanessa shook her head and glanced at Aelita. Instead of conjuring the next step, she conjured the entire rest of the bridge.

"Twenty life points Vanessa!" Jeremie shouted.

"Run Aelita!"Vanessa yelled. Aelita scaled the rest of the bridge.

The hornets continued to fire, and Odd continued to shield. He managed to take out two but the last one would not stay still.

"Odd, go!"

Odd dropped the shield and sprinted across the tiles as Vanessa began getting hit by lasers. The tiles began to shatter. Vanessa blindly sent a blast of energy behind her, hitting the hornet. Just as Odd leapt onto the ledge, Vanessa was devirtualized.

…

The scanner doors hissed open and the small blond girl lay curled up inside.

"Jeremie." She said aloud.

"Are you ok Vanessa?" Jeremie asked over the speakers.

"Did Odd make that jump? I was devirtualized before I could see."

"Yes Vanessa, Odd made it. He's ok."

Vanessa sighed with relief before passing out.

…

The four Lyoko warriors turned to face their exit. They moved down the hallway and found a touch panel waiting for them.

"Jeremie?" Aelita asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Jeremie said. He and Candy glanced towards the elevator at the sound of the elevator doors opening. Vanessa dragged herself into the room over to Jeremie and Candy, leaning on the arm rest.

Aelita shrugged and put her hand up to the touch screen. It scanned her hand and beeped.

The panel disappeared and the wall it had been on split into two sliding doors. A small room was revealed to them.

"Is this the room?" Yumi asked.

"No, it looks like an elevator to the room." Jeremie responded.

They walked inside and the doors slid shut. Like the tunnel they had ran through earlier, the elevator was dark save for the glowing blue programming on the sides. It began its ascent, and they all remained quiet.

The elevator stopped. The walls and ceiling began to pixalize until they completely disappeared, and the Lyoko warriors found themselves standing in an enormous circular arena like room. A huge column towered in front of them, a spiral-like staircase curling up to the top. The entire room sparkled with blue coding.

The warriors gazed around in awe for a moment before Jeremie's soft words caught their attention.

"This is it." Jeremie said. "I'm going to activate the antivirus now."

There was a moment of silent anticipation as the warriors heard the typing of keys through Jeremie's head set. A charge went through the room and the sparkling blue coding turned bright white. A blazing white light emitted from the top of the large column, a welcoming, warming feeling lofting through the air.

Aelita began to journey up the staircase. The three Lyoko warriors watched, smiling. Jeremie, Vanessa and Candy smiled from the supercomputer chair as well.

Aelita reached the top and saw the source of the bright light. A globe of pure, white light floated in the air, sparkling with love, warmth, and life. She slowly moved towards it, and came to a hault, the antivirus arms reach away.

Aelita lifted her hand to the antivirus, and as her fingers made contact with the glowing orb, her eyes closed shut dreamily. Her pink locks began to flutter and the bright light expanded, growing brighter until it completely enveloped her in light.

The bubble of light seemed to solidify, and the glowing stopped. Aelita looked around in alarm.

"Jeremy?" Her voice was slightly muffled. "What-"

Horrible screeching ripped through the air. Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi looked around in a panic.

A panel at the top of the column Aelita stood on opened up, and the Scyphozoa floated out.

Gasps rang on Lyoko and earth as the Lyoko warriors watched Aelita being lifted into the air.

"It was a trap! The antivirus was a fake! He's taking her memory!" Jeremie shouted.

Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi raced up the spiral staircase. They climbed to the top and started banging on the dome like shield around Aelita and the Scyphozoa.

"Aelita no!" Odd fired laser arrows at the shield, but it wouldn't break. Ulrich continuously slashed at it with his katana and Yumi threw her fans, but it just wouldn't break.

"It's no use!" Yumi cried.

Everyone could only watch as the Scyphozoa drained Aelita. Jeremie, Vanessa and Candy starred at the screen in absolute horror.

"No." Jeremie whispered. The last of Aelita's life force slipped away. "Aelita's… dead."

The Scyphozoa dropped Aelita, and she collapsed to the ground. The Scyphozoa retreated and the shield started to disappear.

No!" Odd cried. He, Yumi, and Ulrich devirtualized.

When they got out of the scanners, they quickly climbed the ladder and ran to Jeremie.

"What?" Odd couldn't even form a coherent sentence. Tears were welled in his eyes.

Numerous towers started to activate.

"With, Aelita's key's to Lyoko. Xana can escape Lyoko." Jeremie whispered.

The storm which had been brewing outside had hit full force. Sleet and rain fell over the factory full force. A strike of lightning struck above the factory, and the eye of Xana flashed in the sky.

Lyoko was dark.

Aelita was dead.

Xana had escaped.

The six Lyoko warriors were silent. Soft sniffles and whimpers were the only sounds of life coming from them.

Vanessa sank to the floor and buried her head in her hands. Candy turned away and covered her mouth with a hand and squeezed her eyes shut. Jeremie's head fell with his hands fisted on the keyboard. Ulrich turned away and slammed a fist into the wall. Odd had turned to bury his face in Yumi's shoulder, and she held him as he cried.

Jeremie shook his head as the beginnings of tears formed.

An alert lit up the screen.

Jeremie looked up, and took a sharp intake of breath. "What,"

He started to type. "What is,"

Vanessa lifted her head and Ulrich returned to Jeremie's side. "What's happening?"

"It, it's Franz Hopper."

On Lyoko, a sphere of warm, loving light lifted Aelita from the column.

"He's bringing Lyoko back to life."

"And he's… he's saving his daughter."

Memories filled Aelita's mind as everything came back to her. Eveything. Not just flash backs, or clips, but everything. Her old home, her mother, the men in black, her father, entering Lyoko for the first time, everything. Her entire life filled her memory.

The sphere of light burst and Aelita devirtualized.

Jeremie's eyes widened. "The scanners! Quick!"

They took the ladder down and gathered around a scanner which hummed with life.

The doors hissed open and smoke poured from the pod.

Aelita tumbled out of the pod into Yumi and Odd who lowered her to the ground.

Tears swelled in Aelita's eyes and she buried her head in Odd's chest.

"Jeremie." Yumi said softly. "What do we do now?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I don't know."

"Do we, do we even stand a chance against Xana now?" Vanessa stuttered.

"I don't know."

Jeremie sat down on the floor next to Aelita and Odd. "I just don't know."

Everyone slowly sat down. Aelita had revealed her face to look at the rest of the group, but everyone remained silent.

"My father may have just sacrificed himself to save me and Lyoko, and now he might be gone. If we had any chance at winning, it's gone now." She turned her head downwards and started to cry again. "What are we going to do?"

Jeremie finally looked up to gaze at his friends. "I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to keep fighting. That's what we've been doing all along isn't it? Sure it seems impossible, but that's what we said when we found the supercomputer. That's what we said about bringing Aelita to earth. We'll keep fighting Xana, and we'll win."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Aelita slowly nodded. "You're right. Protecting the world from Xana is my destiny."

Jeremie smiled and took Odd and Ulrich's hand. Ulrich smiled and took Candy's, and she took Vanessa's and Vanessa took Yumi's and Yumi Aelita's. Odd grabbed Aelita's other hand, making her look up and smile.

"No Aelita." Odd said. "It's our Destiny."

**Will the Lyoko Warriors stop Xana? Or will he conquer the world with his new freedom? Find out in Chasing Fate, coming soon.**


End file.
